HC Wainwright Lifts Earnings Estimates for Aura Biosciences

Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) – Equities researchers at HC Wainwright lifted their Q1 2026 EPS estimates for Aura Biosciences in a research note issued to investors on Monday, March 30th. HC Wainwright analyst A. Maldonado now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of ($0.38) for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of ($0.44). HC Wainwright currently has a “Buy” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Aura Biosciences’ current full-year earnings is ($1.66) per share. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Aura Biosciences’ Q2 2026 earnings at ($0.39) EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at ($0.40) EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at ($0.41) EPS, FY2026 earnings at ($1.59) EPS, FY2027 earnings at ($1.56) EPS, FY2028 earnings at ($1.36) EPS and FY2029 earnings at ($1.02) EPS.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on AURA. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Aura Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a report on Friday, March 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aura Biosciences currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.50.

Aura Biosciences Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of AURA opened at $6.63 on Tuesday. Aura Biosciences has a 12 month low of $4.34 and a 12 month high of $7.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $5.98 and its 200-day moving average is $5.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $425.31 million, a PE ratio of -3.70 and a beta of 0.35.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) last announced 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Amy Elazzouzi sold 8,549 shares of Aura Biosciences 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 $43,257.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 75,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $382,191.92. This trade represents a 10.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Conor Kilroy sold 12,079 shares of Aura Biosciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.05, for a total transaction of $60,998.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 167,234 shares in the company, valued at $844,531.70. This trade represents a 6.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 123,076 shares of company stock valued at $618,783 over the last three months. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aura Biosciences

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AURA. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Aura Biosciences by 49.3% during the second 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 last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Water Island Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences during the third quarter worth $64,000. 49 Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences during the third quarter worth $66,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences during the second quarter worth $76,000. Institutional investors own 96.75% of the company’s stock.

Aura Biosciences News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Aura Biosciences this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright raised near-term EPS forecasts for Aura across multiple quarters in 2026 (Q1–Q4 2026 EPS estimates were pared to about ($0.38)–($0.41)) and raised its FY2026 and FY2027 estimates (FY2026 moved to ($1.59) from ($1.79); FY2027 to ($1.56) from ($1.61)). The firm kept a “Buy” rating and a $22 price target, signaling continued analyst confidence vs. the current share price. HC Wainwright estimate changes
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks published a sector-comparison piece looking at how AURA has performed vs. medical peers year-to-date; this provides context for relative momentum but contains no firm-specific catalyst. Is Aura Biosciences (AURA) Stock Outpacing Its Medical Peers This Year?
• Negative Sentiment: HC Wainwright slightly trimmed longer-term estimates for FY2028 and FY2029 (FY2028 to ($1.36) from ($1.33); FY2029 to ($1.02) from ($0.98)), highlighting that while near-term trajectory was revised up, multi‑year profitability still carries uncertainty. HC Wainwright longer-term estimate changes

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.