Kevin Tang Purchases 206,005 Shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) Stock

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) CEO Kevin Tang acquired 206,005 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.28 per share, with a total value of $3,147,756.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,044,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,313,939.68. The trade was a 1.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Kevin Tang also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, June 1st, Kevin Tang bought 343,620 shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.28 per share, for a total transaction of $5,250,513.60.
• On Friday, May 29th, Kevin Tang bought 264,981 shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.31 per share, for a total transaction of $4,056,859.11.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AUPH traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $15.39. 1,304,499 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,232,305. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.09 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 5.01 and a current ratio of 5.55. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc has a fifty-two week low of $7.28 and a fifty-two week high of $16.88.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AUPH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 533,290 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,893,000 after purchasing an additional 94,941 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $729,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 206.2% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 258,816 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,128,000 after purchasing an additional 174,301 shares in the last quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $926,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 69.6% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 136,224 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,173,000 after purchasing an additional 55,903 shares during the period. 36.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

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.