Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Boosts Stock Holdings in Aura Biosciences, Inc. $AURA

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) by 8.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,627,274 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 131,714 shares during the period. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings in Aura Biosciences were worth $10,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. purchased a new position in Aura Biosciences in the second quarter valued at about $31,926,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Aura Biosciences by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,890,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,863,000 after purchasing an additional 413,001 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Aura Biosciences by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,340,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,653,000 after purchasing an additional 130,221 shares in the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Aura Biosciences by 67.1% during the second quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 2,117,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,257,000 after purchasing an additional 850,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acorn Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Aura Biosciences by 0.9% in the second quarter. Acorn Capital Advisors LLC now owns 595,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,729,000 after purchasing an additional 5,236 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.75% of the company’s stock.

Aura Biosciences News Roundup

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

• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest report flagged a “large increase” for Feb. 16–17 but shows 0 shares and NaN changes, indicating a likely data/reporting error rather than new short activity. Treat this as informational but not a confirmed market driver. Short interest article
• Negative Sentiment: Cluster of insider sales — Company insiders sold ~104,567 shares combined (approx. $525k–$530k proceeds), reducing individual holdings by ~6–10% each. Notable filings: Los Pinos Elisabet De sold 47,648 shares (~$5.06 avg), Amy Elazzouzi (SVP) sold 8,549 shares (~$5.06), Janet Jill Hopkins sold 20,401 shares (~$5.06), CTO Mark Plavsic sold 15,890 shares (~$5.05), and Conor Kilroy sold 12,079 shares (~$5.05). Large, concurrent insider selling often creates near-term selling pressure and investor concern. SEC filings: Los Pinos filing Elazzouzi filing Hopkins filing Plavsic filing Kilroy filing

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AURA has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore assumed coverage on Aura Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a report on Monday, December 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aura Biosciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.50.

Insider Transactions at Aura Biosciences

In other Aura Biosciences news, insider Conor Kilroy sold 12,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.05, for a total transaction of $60,998.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 167,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $844,531.70. The trade was a 6.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Amy Elazzouzi sold 8,549 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.06, for a total value of $43,257.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 75,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $382,191.92. This trade represents a 10.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 123,076 shares of company stock valued at $618,783 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Aura Biosciences Trading Down 4.0%

Shares of NASDAQ AURA opened at $5.04 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $320.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.60 and a beta of 0.46. Aura Biosciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $4.34 and a twelve month high of $7.80. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.96.

Aura Biosciences Company Profile

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.