Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.06 EPS

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported ($0.40) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.46) by $0.06, Zacks reports.

Aura Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of Aura Biosciences stock traded down $0.11 on Thursday, hitting $5.46. 68,759 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 227,581. Aura Biosciences has a one year low of $4.34 and a one year high of $10.48. The company has a fifty day moving average of $6.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.23. The company has a market capitalization of $339.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.79 and a beta of 0.45.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Mark Plavsic sold 12,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.35, for a total value of $77,273.15. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 197,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,252,772.45. This trade represents a 5.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Amy Elazzouzi sold 7,722 shares of Aura Biosciences stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.70, for a total transaction of $51,737.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 86,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $579,938.60. The trade was a 8.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 29,836 shares of company stock worth $192,161 over the last quarter. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aura Biosciences

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AURA. Nantahala Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 67.1% during the 2nd quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 2,117,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,257,000 after buying an additional 850,000 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 valued at $17,863,000 after acquiring an additional 413,001 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Aura Biosciences by 9.0% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 497,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,073,000 after buying an additional 41,118 shares in the last quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences during the 2nd quarter valued at about $189,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Aura Biosciences in the 3rd quarter valued at about $157,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on AURA shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a report on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised Aura Biosciences from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aura Biosciences has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.50.

About Aura Biosciences

Aura Biosciences, Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, develops precision immunotherapies to treat a range of solid tumors. The company's proprietary platform enables the targeting of a range of solid tumors using virus-like particles conjugated with drugs or loaded with nucleic acids to create virus-like drug conjugates.