Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Sunday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on AURA. HC Wainwright cut their price target on shares of Aura Biosciences from $24.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Leerink Partners set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aura Biosciences from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.50.

Aura Biosciences Price Performance

NASDAQ:AURA opened at $8.16 on Friday. Aura Biosciences has a fifty-two week low of $4.73 and a fifty-two week high of $9.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $846.27 million, a PE ratio of -4.66 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.78.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Aura Biosciences

In related news, insider Anthony S. Gibney sold 12,824 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,703,572.68. This trade represents a 4.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aura Biosciences

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Aura Biosciences during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aura Biosciences by 130.4% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,104 shares during the last quarter. Water Island Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences in the third quarter worth $64,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences in the fourth quarter worth $59,000. 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.