Mark Plavsic Sells 15,890 Shares of Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Stock

Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) CTO Mark Plavsic sold 15,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.05, for a total transaction of $80,244.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 181,397 shares in the company, valued at $916,054.85. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Aura Biosciences Stock Down 4.0%

AURA opened at $5.04 on Thursday. Aura Biosciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $4.34 and a 52-week high of $7.80. The company has a 50 day moving average of $5.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.96. The company has a market cap of $320.04 million, a P/E ratio of -2.60 and a beta of 0.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AURA has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Evercore began coverage on Aura Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.50.

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

Institutional Trading of Aura Biosciences

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AURA. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 49.3% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aura Biosciences during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Water Island Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Aura Biosciences during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,000. 49 Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $76,000. 96.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.