Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Stock Price Up 2.4% – Still a Buy?

Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) shares were up 2.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $7.15 and last traded at $7.12. Approximately 176,335 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 16% from the average daily volume of 209,657 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.95.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on AURA. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. HC Wainwright upgraded Aura Biosciences to a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Aura Biosciences Stock Up 2.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $357.92 million, a P/E ratio of -3.75 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.69.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The company reported ($0.55) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.47) by ($0.08). On average, research analysts predict that Aura Biosciences, Inc. will post -1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Aura Biosciences

In other Aura Biosciences news, Director David Michael Johnson bought 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $4.90 per share, for a total transaction of $98,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 166,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $814,218.30. This represents a 13.68% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Anthony S. Gibney bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $4.90 per share, for a total transaction of $245,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 58,452 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,414.80. This trade represents a 591.58% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aura Biosciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AURA. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Aura Biosciences by 27.2% in the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 32,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,000 after buying an additional 6,998 shares in the last quarter. Acorn Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences during the 1st quarter valued at $3,460,000. Ascent Group LLC bought a new stake in Aura Biosciences in the 1st quarter valued at $124,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences in the 1st quarter worth $137,000. Finally, Long Focus Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aura Biosciences by 30.8% during the 1st quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 3,319,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,453,000 after purchasing an additional 781,808 shares during the period. 96.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aura Biosciences Company Profile

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.