Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Stock Price Down 4.9% – What’s Next?

Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA)’s stock price fell 4.9% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $7.34 and last traded at $7.3590. 254,607 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 419,417 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AURA shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aura Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Aura Biosciences from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Aura Biosciences from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Leerink Partners set a $17.00 price target on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.50.

Aura Biosciences Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $7.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.39. The company has a market capitalization of $755.68 million, a P/E ratio of -4.21 and a beta of 0.40.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by ($0.10). Sell-side analysts anticipate that Aura Biosciences, Inc. will post -1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Matrix Capital Management Comp sold 6,922,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.64, for a total value of $39,044,986.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Conor Kilroy sold 11,738 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.02, for a total transaction of $82,400.76. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 217,835 shares in the company, valued at $1,529,201.70. This trade represents a 5.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders have sold 6,947,432 shares of company stock valued at $39,209,718. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 130.4% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 3,206 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Aura Biosciences by 49.3% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 2,104 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aura Biosciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Water Island Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $76,000. 96.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.