Renaissance Technologies LLC Acquires 73,700 Shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc $AUPH

Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) by 4.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,663,835 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 73,700 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals were worth $24,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 411.9% during the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,471 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,407 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,318 shares in the last quarter. 36.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kevin Tang acquired 206,005 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 13,044,106 shares in the company, valued at $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 hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 814,606 shares of company stock worth $12,455,129. Insiders own 10.40% of the company’s stock.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of AUPH stock opened at $15.18 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.35. The company has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.00 and a beta of 1.41. 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 Inc has a twelve month low of $8.84 and a twelve month high of $19.25.

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

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals 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.