Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) Upgraded by Bloom Burton to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) was upgraded by stock analysts at Bloom Burton from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.67.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $17.27 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $15.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.54 and a beta of 1.42. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $10.34 and a 52 week high of $19.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 4.97 and a current ratio of 5.42.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $58.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.45 million. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 100.84% and a return on equity of 26.11%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals will post 0.79 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kevin Tang bought 206,005 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.28 per share, with a total value of $3,147,756.40. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 814,606 shares of company stock valued at $12,455,129. 10.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $41,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $45,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 411.9% in the first quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,471 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 2,793 shares during the period. 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.