Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold” Rating

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on AURA. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research report on Friday, March 27th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aura Biosciences has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.50.

Aura Biosciences Price Performance

Aura Biosciences stock opened at $6.54 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $5.93 and a 200-day moving average of $5.87. Aura Biosciences has a 1 year low of $4.34 and a 1 year high of $7.48. The company has a market capitalization of $419.54 million, a P/E ratio of -3.65 and a beta of 0.35.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 30th. The company reported ($0.37) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by $0.06. Equities analysts anticipate that Aura Biosciences will post -1.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aura Biosciences news, insider Janet Jill Hopkins sold 20,401 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.06, for a total transaction of $103,229.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 232,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,175,357.04. This trade represents a 8.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Mark Plavsic sold 15,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.05, for a total transaction of $80,244.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 181,397 shares in the company, valued at $916,054.85. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 123,076 shares of company stock valued at $618,783 over the last 90 days. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aura Biosciences

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 2,104 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aura Biosciences during the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. Water Island Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences in the 3rd quarter worth about $64,000. 49 Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences in the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $76,000. Institutional investors own 96.75% of the company’s stock.

About Aura Biosciences

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.