Analysts Set Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) Target Price at $17.25

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $17.25.

AUPH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Leerink Partners lowered shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $15.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Kevin Tang bought 516,439 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $13.99 per share, for a total transaction of $7,224,981.61. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,845,939 shares in the company, valued at $165,724,686.61. The trade was a 4.56% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 12.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 213.5% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,374,021 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $37,283,000 after purchasing an additional 2,297,903 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 1,272.5% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,483,132 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $16,389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,375,072 shares during the period. Kotler Kevin acquired a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $19,536,000. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 728.6% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,341,067 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,819,000 after acquiring an additional 1,179,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc increased its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 368.9% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 852,671 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $13,600,000 after acquiring an additional 670,812 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.83% of the company’s stock.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.7%

AUPH opened at $14.08 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $14.59 and a 200-day moving average of $14.13. The company has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 1.53. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $6.82 and a fifty-two week high of $16.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 4.76 and a current ratio of 5.25.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $1.32. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 101.46% and a return on equity of 27.47%. The business had revenue of $77.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.70 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals will post 0.11 EPS for the current year.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.