JPMorgan Chase & Co. Grows Stock Holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc $AUPH

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) by 21.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 533,290 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 94,941 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.40% of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals worth $5,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AUPH. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $934,000. Marex Group plc purchased a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,143,000. Navellier & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $926,000. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 74.0% in the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 547,802 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,640,000 after purchasing an additional 233,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 240.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 143,885 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,219,000 after purchasing an additional 101,672 shares during the period. 36.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $14.82 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $14.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 4.76 and a current ratio of 5.25. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc has a fifty-two week low of $6.82 and a fifty-two week high of $16.54. The company has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 7.13 and a beta of 1.53.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $1.32. The firm had revenue of $77.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.70 million. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 27.47% and a net margin of 101.46%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Kevin Tang purchased 516,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.99 per share, with a total value of $7,224,981.61. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,845,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $165,724,686.61. This represents a 4.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 12.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Leerink Partners lowered shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $15.00 to $16.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.25.

About Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

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.