Aura Biosciences, Inc. $AURA Shares Bought by Levin Capital Strategies L.P.

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,627,274 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 131,714 shares during the quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. owned approximately 2.62% of Aura Biosciences worth $10,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences in the second quarter valued at about $31,926,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Aura Biosciences by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,890,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,863,000 after buying an additional 413,001 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Aura Biosciences by 5.9% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,340,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,653,000 after acquiring an additional 130,221 shares during the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aura Biosciences by 67.1% in the second quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 2,117,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,257,000 after acquiring an additional 850,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acorn Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Aura Biosciences by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Acorn Capital Advisors LLC now owns 595,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,729,000 after purchasing an additional 5,236 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.75% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aura Biosciences

In related news, insider Conor Kilroy sold 12,079 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.05, for a total transaction of $60,998.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 167,234 shares in the company, valued at $844,531.70. The trade was a 6.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Mark Plavsic sold 15,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.05, for a total transaction of $80,244.50. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 181,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $916,054.85. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 123,076 shares of company stock worth $618,783. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AURA has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Evercore assumed coverage on Aura Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued 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 a consensus target price of $20.50.

Aura Biosciences Price Performance

AURA stock opened at $5.04 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $5.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $320.04 million, a P/E ratio of -2.60 and a beta of 0.46. Aura Biosciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $4.34 and a 1 year high of $7.80.

More Aura Biosciences News

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

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.