PSP Research LLC Invests $542,000 in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc $AUPH

PSP Research LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 33,953 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $542,000. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals makes up approximately 0.5% of PSP Research LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AUPH. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,407 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 1,318 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,270 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $483,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 16,543 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 2,225 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 262,380 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,910,000 after acquiring an additional 2,346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,252 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 2,834 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings lowered Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kevin Tang purchased 516,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $13.99 per share, with a total value of $7,224,981.61. Following the purchase, the director owned 11,845,939 shares in the company, valued at $165,724,686.61. This represents a 4.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 12.20% of the company’s stock.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $15.55 on Wednesday. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc has a one year low of $7.28 and a one year high of $16.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 5.55 and a quick ratio of 5.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $15.33 and its 200 day moving average is $15.17. The firm has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.17 and a beta of 1.44.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.07. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 26.62% and a net margin of 99.97%.The business had revenue of $77.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.98 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc will post 0.82 EPS for the current year.

About Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

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.