Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $17.25.

Several brokerages have issued reports on AUPH. Bloom Burton downgraded shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Leerink Partnrs lowered Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $15.00 price target (up previously from $9.00) on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $10.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $15.00 to $16.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.4%

AUPH opened at $14.79 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.17, a current ratio of 5.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $6.55 and a 52 week high of $16.54. The business’s 50 day moving average is $15.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.97. The firm has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.41 and a beta of 1.46.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $73.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.70 million. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 29.28% and a return on equity of 25.19%. On average, research analysts predict that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals will post 0.11 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $48,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $91,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Bailard Inc. purchased a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $99,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $107,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.83% of the company’s stock.

About Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

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.