Kevin Tang Acquires 516,439 Shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) Stock

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) Director Kevin Tang purchased 516,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.99 per share, for a total transaction of $7,224,981.61. Following the purchase, the director owned 11,845,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165,724,686.61. The trade was a 4.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 6.3%

Shares of AUPH opened at $15.04 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $14.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.97. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc has a 12-month low of $6.82 and a 12-month high of $16.54. The company has a current ratio of 5.25, a quick ratio of 4.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The firm has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.23 and a beta of 1.53.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $1.32. The company had revenue of $77.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.70 million. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 101.46% and a return on equity of 27.47%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AUPH shares. Leerink Partners cut Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $15.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Bloom Burton downgraded Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $10.00 to $21.00 in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective (up from $9.00) on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AUPH. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 65.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 367,661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,956,000 after buying an additional 145,179 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 503,543 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,048,000 after purchasing an additional 40,380 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 79,811 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 3,497 shares in the last quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 70.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. now owns 357,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,024,000 after purchasing an additional 147,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 24.1% during the second quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 933,862 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $7,910,000 after purchasing an additional 181,093 shares in the last quarter. 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.