Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Shares Up 6.5% – Here’s What Happened

Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) was up 6.5% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $8.13 and last traded at $8.18. 424,368 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 8% from the average daily volume of 462,903 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AURA shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Aura Biosciences from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Aura Biosciences from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday. Leerink Partners set a $17.00 price objective on Aura Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, HC Wainwright reduced their target price on Aura Biosciences from $24.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two investment 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.50.

Aura Biosciences Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $845.76 million, a P/E ratio of -4.69 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $7.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.77.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by ($0.10). Research analysts predict that Aura Biosciences, Inc. will post -1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aura Biosciences news, insider Anthony S. Gibney sold 12,824 shares of Aura Biosciences stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.42, for a total transaction of $82,330.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 265,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,703,572.68. This trade represents a 4.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 1.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aura Biosciences

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Aura Biosciences by 49.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Aura Biosciences by 12.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 24,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,000 after buying an additional 2,693 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Aura Biosciences by 130.4% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,665 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 3,206 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Aura Biosciences by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 69,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 4,366 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.75% of the company’s stock.

About Aura Biosciences

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.