Insider Buying: Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) CEO Purchases 206,005 Shares of Stock

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) CEO Kevin Tang purchased 206,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.28 per share, with a total value of $3,147,756.40. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,044,106 shares in the company, valued at $199,313,939.68. This trade represents a 1.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Kevin Tang also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, June 1st, Kevin Tang acquired 343,620 shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $15.28 per share, for a total transaction of $5,250,513.60.
• On Friday, May 29th, Kevin Tang bought 264,981 shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.31 per share, for a total transaction of $4,056,859.11.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ:AUPH traded up $0.08 on Tuesday, reaching $15.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,304,499 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,232,305. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc has a 1-year low of $7.28 and a 1-year high of $16.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 5.01 and a current ratio of 5.55. The firm has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of 7.09 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $15.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.25.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.07. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 26.62% and a net margin of 99.97%.The company had revenue of $77.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.98 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AUPH. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $48,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 411.9% in the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,471 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793 shares during the period. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. raised its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 1,008.1% in the 1st quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 6,815 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 6,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 36.83% of the company’s stock.

About Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for autoimmune diseases. The company’s proprietary molecule, voclosporin, is designed to selectively inhibit calcineurin and reduce inflammation associated with autoimmune responses. Aurinia operates research and development facilities in Canada and the United States, leveraging collaborations with academic institutions and contract research organizations to advance its clinical pipeline.

The company’s lead product, voclosporin (marketed as LUPKYNIS), received approval from the U.S.