Nantahala Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Aura Biosciences, Inc. $AURA

Nantahala Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,951,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,952,313. Nantahala Capital Management LLC owned 2.85% of Aura Biosciences as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Aura Biosciences during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 130.4% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 3,206 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Aura Biosciences by 49.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104 shares during the period. Water Island Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences in the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Institutional investors own 96.75% of the company’s stock.

Aura Biosciences Trading Down 3.9%

Shares of NASDAQ AURA opened at $7.40 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $7.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.89. Aura Biosciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $4.73 and a 1-year high of $9.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $767.45 million, a P/E ratio of -4.23 and a beta of 0.40.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.48) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by ($0.10). Equities research analysts forecast that Aura Biosciences, Inc. will post -1.61 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aura Biosciences news, insider Anthony S. Gibney sold 12,824 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.42, for a total value of $82,330.08. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 265,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,703,572.68. This trade represents a 4.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AURA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Leerink Partners set a $17.00 target price on Aura Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. HC Wainwright dropped their price target on Aura Biosciences from $24.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Aura Biosciences from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Aura Biosciences from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.50.

Aura Biosciences 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.