Short Interest in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) Decreases By 15.7%

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 9,112,230 shares, a decline of 15.7% from the March 31st total of 10,809,496 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,079,907 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.4 days. Approximately 7.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.25.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.1%

AUPH traded down $0.01 on Friday, reaching $15.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 489,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,064,127. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $15.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.82. The company has a quick ratio of 4.76, a current ratio of 5.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.39 and a beta of 1.51. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $1.32. The business had revenue of $77.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.70 million. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 27.47% and a net margin of 101.46%. As a group, analysts forecast that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Kevin Tang acquired 516,439 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.99 per share, with a total value of $7,224,981.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,845,939 shares in the company, valued at $165,724,686.61. This represents a 4.56% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 12.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AUPH. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 65.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 367,661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,956,000 after acquiring an additional 145,179 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 8.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 503,543 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,048,000 after acquiring an additional 40,380 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 79,811 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 3,497 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 21.0% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 20,699 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 3,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 16.5% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 141,492 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 20,027 shares during the last quarter. 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.