Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Hits New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) hit a new 52-week high on Friday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from $20.00 to $23.00. Scotiabank currently has a sector outperform rating on the stock. Aura Biosciences traded as high as $12.38 and last traded at $11.82, with a volume of 585739 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $10.29.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on AURA. Lifesci Capital upgraded shares of Aura Biosciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Aura Biosciences from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI raised Aura Biosciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. HC Wainwright upped their price target on Aura Biosciences from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price objective on Aura Biosciences from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aura Biosciences currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CTO Mark Plavsic sold 7,383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.85, for a total transaction of $72,722.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 121,132 shares in the company, valued at $1,193,150.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Los Pinos Elisabet De sold 24,992 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.04, for a total value of $300,903.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 329,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,971,357.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CTO Mark Plavsic sold 7,383 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.85, for a total value of $72,722.55. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now directly owns 121,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,193,150.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aura Biosciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences during the second quarter worth approximately $119,000. American International Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 27.4% in the 1st quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 17,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 3,782 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences in the 1st quarter valued at $144,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences in the 3rd quarter valued at $169,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 39.6% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 63,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 18,011 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.75% of the company’s stock.

Aura Biosciences Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $581.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.31 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s 50 day moving average is $8.66 and its 200 day moving average is $8.06.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.45) by $0.04. As a group, analysts forecast that Aura Biosciences, Inc. will post -1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Aura Biosciences Company Profile

Aura Biosciences, Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, develops precision immunotherapies to treat a range of solid tumors. The company's proprietary platform enables the targeting of a range of solid tumors using virus-like particles conjugated with drugs or loaded with nucleic acids to create virus-like drug conjugates.