Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) SVP Amy Elazzouzi Sells 8,549 Shares

Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) SVP Amy Elazzouzi sold 8,549 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.06, for a total value of $43,257.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 75,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $382,191.92. This represents a 10.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Amy Elazzouzi also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, January 20th, Amy Elazzouzi sold 1,581 shares of Aura Biosciences stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.86, for a total value of $7,683.66.

Aura Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of AURA stock opened at $5.25 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $5.60 and its 200-day moving average is $5.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $333.38 million, a PE ratio of -2.71 and a beta of 0.46. Aura Biosciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $4.34 and a 52 week high of $8.03.

Key Headlines Impacting Aura Biosciences

Here are the key news stories impacting Aura Biosciences this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest entries on Feb. 16–17 report a “large/significant increase” but show 0 shares and NaN changes, indicating likely data/reporting errors rather than genuine new short activity. This is an uncertain/neutral factor.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — Los Pinos Elisabet De (insider) sold 47,648 shares at an average ~$5.06 (reducing her stake ~10.42%). SEC filing: Los Pinos Elisabet De sale
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — Amy Elazzouzi (SVP) sold 8,549 shares at an average ~$5.06 (reducing her stake ~10.17%). SEC filing: Amy Elazzouzi sale
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — Janet Jill Hopkins sold 20,401 shares at an average ~$5.06 (reducing her stake ~8.07%). SEC filing: Janet Jill Hopkins sale
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — Mark Plavsic (CTO) sold 15,890 shares at an average ~$5.05 (reducing his stake ~8.05%). SEC filing: Mark Plavsic sale
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — Conor Kilroy sold 12,079 shares at an average ~$5.05 (reducing his stake ~6.74%). SEC filing: Conor Kilroy sale

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on AURA. Evercore assumed coverage on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Aura Biosciences has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Aura Biosciences by 49.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104 shares during the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Aura Biosciences by 24.3% in the second quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 2,434 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Aura Biosciences by 12.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 24,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,000 after acquiring an additional 2,693 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Aura Biosciences by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 69,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 3,630 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 69,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 4,366 shares during the last quarter. 96.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Aura Biosciences

Aura Biosciences is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel virus‐like particle (VLP) therapies for the treatment of cancer. By combining proprietary VLP technology with photoactivatable dyes, Aura aims to deliver highly selective photodynamic therapies that target and destroy tumor cells while sparing healthy tissue. The company’s platform is designed to address solid tumors in both ophthalmic and non‐ophthalmic settings, leveraging precision activation via near‐infrared light to induce localized tumor cell apoptosis and stimulate anti‐tumor immune responses.

The lead product candidate, AU-011, is being evaluated in patients with choroidal melanoma, a rare but potentially sight-threatening eye cancer.