Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

AURA has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a report on Friday, March 27th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of Aura Biosciences in a report on Monday, March 30th. Three 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.com, Aura Biosciences currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.50.

Aura Biosciences Stock Up 2.1%

Aura Biosciences stock opened at $6.68 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $428.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.73 and a beta of 0.35. Aura Biosciences has a 52 week low of $4.34 and a 52 week high of $7.48. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $5.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.87.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 30th. The company reported ($0.37) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by $0.06. Equities analysts expect that Aura Biosciences will post -1.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aura Biosciences news, insider Los Pinos Elisabet De sold 47,648 shares of the firm’s 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 $241,098.88. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 409,815 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,073,663.90. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Amy Elazzouzi sold 8,549 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 75,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $382,191.92. The trade was a 10.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 123,076 shares of company stock valued at $618,783 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aura Biosciences

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. XTX Topco Ltd grew its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 145.2% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 60,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 36,006 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 140,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after purchasing an additional 13,647 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 233.3% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 617,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,364,000 after purchasing an additional 432,117 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $234,000. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 51,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 7,998 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.75% of the company’s stock.

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.