Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $17.75 and last traded at $18.0440, with a volume of 68761 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $16.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. 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, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.25.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 7.9%

The company has a quick ratio of 5.01, a current ratio of 5.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business’s 50 day moving average is $15.79 and its 200-day moving average is $15.27. The firm has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.12 and a beta of 1.41.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $77.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.98 million. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 99.97% and a return on equity of 26.62%. As a group, analysts forecast that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Kevin Tang purchased 343,620 shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.28 per share, with a total value of $5,250,513.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,838,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,166,183.28. This trade represents a 2.75% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have bought a total of 814,606 shares of company stock worth $12,455,129 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 12.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 213.5% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,374,021 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,283,000 after purchasing an additional 2,297,903 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 1,272.5% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,483,132 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $16,389,000 after buying an additional 1,375,072 shares during the last quarter. Kotler Kevin acquired a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $19,536,000. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 728.6% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,341,067 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $14,819,000 after buying an additional 1,179,219 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc boosted its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 368.9% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 852,671 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $13,600,000 after buying an additional 670,812 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.83% of the company’s stock.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.