Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $17.75 and last traded at $18.0440, with a volume of 68761 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $16.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.25.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $15.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.30. The firm has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of 8.24 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 5.55 and a quick ratio of 5.01.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kevin Tang purchased 206,005 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.28 per share, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 1.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders purchased 814,606 shares of company stock valued at $12,455,129 in the last ninety days. 12.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 533,290 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,893,000 after acquiring an additional 94,941 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $729,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position 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 during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 69.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 136,224 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,173,000 after purchasing an additional 55,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $1,970,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.83% of the company’s stock.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.