Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.25.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.1%

NASDAQ AUPH opened at $16.97 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $16.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.37. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $7.28 and a one year high of $19.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 5.01 and a current ratio of 5.55. The company has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.82 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kevin Tang acquired 343,620 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.28 per share, with a total value of $5,250,513.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 12,838,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,166,183.28. This represents a 2.75% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders acquired a total of 814,606 shares of company stock worth $12,455,129 over the last quarter. Insiders own 12.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AUPH. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 411.9% in the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,471 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,793 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 25.9% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,407 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 1,318 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.83% of the company’s stock.

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.