Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR) Stock Price Up 9.3% – Here’s What Happened

Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR) was up 9.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $7.38 and last traded at $7.4550. Approximately 16,714,471 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 23,403,908 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.82.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aurora Innovation in a research note on Monday, April 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Aurora Innovation from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Aurora Innovation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of Aurora Innovation in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Aurora Innovation from $4.70 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.25.

Aurora Innovation Stock Up 9.7%

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $6.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.13. The company has a market capitalization of $14.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.12 and a beta of 2.62.

Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.01. Aurora Innovation had a negative return on equity of 40.45% and a negative net margin of 20,775.00%.The business had revenue of $1.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.97 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 66.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Aurora Innovation, Inc. will post -0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Reid Hoffman sold 1,202,354 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.27, for a total transaction of $8,741,113.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David M. Wehner purchased 82,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.04 per share, for a total transaction of $498,300.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 246,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,488,974.76. This trade represents a 50.30% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,048,487 shares of company stock valued at $54,295,119. Corporate insiders own 8.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aurora Innovation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AUR. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Aurora Innovation in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aurora Innovation during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in Aurora Innovation during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC bought a new stake in Aurora Innovation during the third quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aurora Innovation in the 3rd quarter valued at $55,000. 44.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Aurora Innovation

Aurora Innovation, Inc is a technology company specializing in the development of self-driving vehicle systems for both passenger and commercial applications. Headquartered in Mountain View, California, Aurora has built an end-to-end platform—known as the Aurora Driver—that integrates proprietary software, machine learning algorithms and a suite of sensors (LiDAR, radar and cameras) to enable vehicles to operate safely and efficiently in diverse driving environments.

The company’s core business revolves around designing, testing and deploying its autonomy stack on vehicles from established automotive and transportation partners.