Aura Biosciences’ (AURA) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at HC Wainwright

HC Wainwright reiterated their buy rating on shares of Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. HC Wainwright currently has a $22.00 target price on the stock.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Aura Biosciences presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.50.

Aura Biosciences Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ:AURA opened at $6.20 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $5.84 and its 200-day moving average is $5.86. Aura Biosciences has a 1-year low of $4.34 and a 1-year high of $7.48. The stock has a market cap of $393.70 million, a P/E ratio of -3.20 and a beta of 0.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aura Biosciences

In other Aura Biosciences news, CTO Mark Plavsic sold 15,890 shares of the 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 $80,244.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 181,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $916,054.85. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Janet Jill Hopkins sold 20,401 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.06, for a total transaction of $103,229.06. Following the transaction, the insider owned 232,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,175,357.04. The trade was a 8.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 123,076 shares of company stock worth $618,783. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aura Biosciences

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AURA. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences in the 1st quarter worth about $137,000. Invesco Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences during the 2nd quarter valued at about $76,000. Resolute Capital Asset Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences during the 2nd quarter valued at about $570,000. B Group Inc. grew its stake in Aura Biosciences by 21.2% during the second quarter. B Group Inc. now owns 572,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,584,000 after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares during the period. Finally, Nantahala Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Aura Biosciences by 67.1% in the second quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 2,117,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,257,000 after purchasing an additional 850,000 shares in the last quarter. 96.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.