Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH) Short Interest Down 6.9% in April

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,390,000 shares, a decline of 6.9% from the March 31st total of 12,240,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,060,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.5 days. Approximately 8.9% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ AUPH traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $4.98. The company had a trading volume of 372,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,117,711. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $4.71 and a fifty-two week high of $12.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 5.50 and a quick ratio of 4.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.19.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by ($0.03). Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 20.10% and a negative net margin of 44.45%. The business had revenue of $45.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 58.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals will post -0.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 95.9% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,673 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA increased its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 25,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 214,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,687,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 75,196 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 2,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 28,634 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 2,390 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 36.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AUPH shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $9.50 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $13.00 to $8.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.00.

About Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing therapies to treat various diseases with unmet medical need in the United States. It offers LUPKYNIS for the treatment of adult patients with active lupus nephritis. It has a collaboration and license agreement with Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd.