Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by ($0.10), FiscalAI reports.

Aura Biosciences Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:AURA opened at $7.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $785.76 million, a PE ratio of -4.37 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $7.09 and its 200 day moving average is $6.18. Aura Biosciences has a 52 week low of $4.73 and a 52 week high of $9.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AURA shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Aura Biosciences from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Leerink Partners set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Aura Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Aura Biosciences from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aura Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Aura Biosciences currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Matrix Capital Management Comp sold 6,922,870 shares of Aura Biosciences stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.64, for a total value of $39,044,986.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Conor Kilroy sold 11,738 shares of Aura Biosciences stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.02, for a total transaction of $82,400.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 217,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,529,201.70. The trade was a 5.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aura Biosciences

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 49.3% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104 shares during the period. Water Island Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences in the third quarter valued at about $64,000. Invesco Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences in the second quarter valued at about $76,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 286.6% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 13,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 10,007 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences in the second quarter valued at about $102,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.75% of the company’s stock.

Aura Biosciences Company Profile

Aura Biosciences is a clinical?stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel virus?like particle (VLP) therapies for the treatment of cancer. By combining proprietary VLP technology with photoactivatable dyes, Aura aims to deliver highly selective photodynamic therapies that target and destroy tumor cells while sparing healthy tissue. The company’s platform is designed to address solid tumors in both ophthalmic and non?ophthalmic settings, leveraging precision activation via near?infrared light to induce localized tumor cell apoptosis and stimulate anti?tumor immune responses.

The lead product candidate, AU-011, is being evaluated in patients with choroidal melanoma, a rare but potentially sight-threatening eye cancer.