Conor Kilroy Sells 12,079 Shares of Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Stock

Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) insider Conor Kilroy sold 12,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.05, for a total value of $60,998.95. Following the transaction, the insider owned 167,234 shares in the company, valued at $844,531.70. This trade represents a 6.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Aura Biosciences Stock Down 5.7%

AURA stock traded down $0.32 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $5.25. 463,309 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 180,467. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $5.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.97. Aura Biosciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $4.34 and a 52 week high of $8.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $333.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.71 and a beta of 0.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on AURA shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a report on Monday, December 29th. Evercore started coverage on Aura Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 2,104 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,000. Water Island Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,000. 49 Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Aura Biosciences during the third quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. bought a new stake in Aura Biosciences during the second quarter worth approximately $76,000. 96.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Aura Biosciences

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.