Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.10 EPS

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by ($0.10), FiscalAI reports.

Aura Biosciences Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ AURA traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $8.19. The company had a trading volume of 331,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 349,795. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.05. Aura Biosciences has a 52-week low of $4.34 and a 52-week high of $9.53. The stock has a market cap of $525.80 million, a P/E ratio of -4.58 and a beta of 0.37.

Insider Transactions at Aura Biosciences

In other Aura Biosciences news, insider Conor Kilroy sold 11,738 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.02, for a total transaction of $82,400.76. Following the transaction, the insider owned 217,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,529,201.70. This trade represents a 5.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CTO Mark Plavsic sold 15,890 shares of Aura Biosciences stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.05, for a total value of $80,244.50. Following the sale, 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 116,305 shares of company stock valued at $611,230 over the last quarter. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aura Biosciences

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Aura Biosciences by 49.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104 shares during the period. Water Island Capital LLC acquired a new position in Aura Biosciences in the third quarter valued at $64,000. Invesco Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences in the second quarter valued at about $76,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Aura Biosciences by 286.6% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 13,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 10,007 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences during the second quarter worth about $102,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on AURA shares. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Aura Biosciences from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aura Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aura Biosciences has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.50.

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.