Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) Lowered to Hold Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings lowered 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 five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.25.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:AUPH opened at $15.33 on Tuesday. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $8.80 and a 52-week high of $19.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s 50 day moving average is $16.01 and its 200 day moving average is $15.36. The company has a quick ratio of 5.01, a current ratio of 5.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.07. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 26.62% and a net margin of 99.97%.The business had revenue of $77.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.98 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals will post 0.81 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

In other Aurinia Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Kevin Tang acquired 206,005 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.28 per share, for a total transaction of $3,147,756.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 13,044,106 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 814,606 shares of company stock valued at $12,455,129. 10.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 533,290 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,893,000 after purchasing an additional 94,941 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $729,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 206.2% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 258,816 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,128,000 after purchasing an additional 174,301 shares during the last quarter. Cvfg LLC acquired a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,000,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,970,000. Institutional investors 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.