Zacks Research Downgrades Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) to Strong Sell

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) was downgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on AUGO. Bank of America decreased their price target on Aura Minerals from $122.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Aura Minerals from $104.50 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Aura Minerals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aura Minerals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aura Minerals currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.27.

Aura Minerals Trading Down 1.0%

AUGO opened at $54.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $62.26 and a 200 day moving average of $72.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Aura Minerals has a 12 month low of $22.24 and a 12 month high of $110.32. The firm has a market cap of $4.57 billion and a P/E ratio of 50.46.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $382.61 million for the quarter. Aura Minerals had a return on equity of 111.96% and a net margin of 7.80%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aura Minerals will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Aura Minerals

In other news, CEO Rodrigo Cardoso Barbosa sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.43, for a total transaction of $4,885,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 794,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,716,085.35. This trade represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mauad Bruno Sousa sold 100,000 shares of Aura Minerals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total transaction of $7,748,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 434,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,701,088.20. This represents a 18.69% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 403,092 shares of company stock worth $30,450,738.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aura Minerals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AUGO. Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Aura Minerals in the 1st quarter worth $4,298,000. Wealth High Governance Asset Management Ltda. purchased a new position in shares of Aura Minerals during the first quarter valued at $3,645,000. Rathbones Group PLC purchased a new position in shares of Aura Minerals during the first quarter valued at $245,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Aura Minerals by 42.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 977,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,740,000 after acquiring an additional 291,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. bought a new stake in shares of Aura Minerals in the first quarter valued at about $306,000.

About Aura Minerals

We are an Americas gold and copper production company with a significant portfolio of mining operations. Our mission is to deliver long-term value by unlocking operational efficiencies, responsibly growing our portfolio with a focus on return on invested capital, responsible mining practices and a commitment to sustainability. We operate with a decentralized culture, supported by a lean corporate team that ensures agile and dynamic management and decision-making processes, focused on high operational sustainability compliance standards.