Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.06 EPS

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) released its earnings results on Monday. The company reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by $0.06, FiscalAI reports.

Aura Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of Aura Biosciences stock opened at $6.27 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.86. Aura Biosciences has a fifty-two week low of $4.34 and a fifty-two week high of $7.48. The firm has a market cap of $398.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.23 and a beta of 0.45.

Insider Transactions at Aura Biosciences

In other Aura Biosciences news, CTO Mark Plavsic sold 15,890 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.05, for a total value of $80,244.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 181,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $916,054.85. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Amy Elazzouzi sold 8,549 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.06, for a total transaction of $43,257.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 75,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $382,191.92. The trade was a 10.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 123,076 shares of company stock valued at $618,783 in the last quarter. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aura Biosciences

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nantahala Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 67.1% in the 2nd quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 2,117,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,257,000 after acquiring an additional 850,000 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aura Biosciences by 233.3% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 617,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,364,000 after buying an additional 432,117 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Aura Biosciences by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,890,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,863,000 after buying an additional 413,001 shares in the last quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Aura Biosciences during the 3rd quarter worth about $309,000. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in Aura Biosciences by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 926,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,050,000 after acquiring an additional 47,663 shares during the last quarter. 96.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research note on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.50.

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.