Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.50.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AURA shares. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research note on Monday, December 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Janet Jill Hopkins sold 17,109 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.42, for a total transaction of $92,730.78. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 252,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,369,552.70. The trade was a 6.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Los Pinos Elisabet De sold 9,049 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.35, for a total transaction of $57,461.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 474,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,012,382.85. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 39,223 shares of company stock worth $233,155 over the last quarter. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Aura Biosciences by 49.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 2,104 shares during the period. Water Island Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences during the third quarter valued at about $64,000. 49 Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences during the third quarter worth about $66,000. Invesco Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences during the second quarter worth about $76,000. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Aura Biosciences by 24.3% in the second quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 2,434 shares in the last quarter. 96.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aura Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AURA opened at $5.09 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $323.22 million, a PE ratio of -2.62 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50-day moving average of $5.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.20. Aura Biosciences has a 12 month low of $4.34 and a 12 month high of $8.27.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The company reported ($0.40) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.46) by $0.06. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Aura Biosciences will post -1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

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.