Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 360,737 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 45% from the previous session’s volume of 248,514 shares.The stock last traded at $8.17 and had previously closed at $7.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AURA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aura Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Aura Biosciences from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.50.

Aura Biosciences Price Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $532.22 million, a PE ratio of -4.63 and a beta of 0.37.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 30th. The company reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by $0.06. On average, analysts anticipate that Aura Biosciences, Inc. will post -1.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aura Biosciences news, insider Janet Jill Hopkins sold 20,401 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.06, for a total value of $103,229.06. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 232,284 shares in the company, valued at $1,175,357.04. This represents a 8.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Conor Kilroy sold 11,738 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 217,835 shares in the company, valued at $1,529,201.70. This represents a 5.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 116,305 shares of company stock worth $611,230. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aura Biosciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nantahala Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Aura Biosciences by 67.1% in the second quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 2,117,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,257,000 after purchasing an additional 850,000 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Aura Biosciences by 233.3% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 617,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,364,000 after purchasing an additional 432,117 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Aura Biosciences by 16.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,890,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,863,000 after purchasing an additional 413,001 shares in the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. raised its stake in Aura Biosciences by 8.8% in the third quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 1,627,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,057,000 after purchasing an additional 131,714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prelude Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aura Biosciences in the third quarter valued at approximately $309,000. 96.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.