Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR) Shares Up 5.9% – Time to Buy?

Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR)’s share price was up 5.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $6.72 and last traded at $6.6850. Approximately 12,782,264 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 23,121,775 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.31.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Aurora Innovation from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on Aurora Innovation in a report on Friday, June 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Aurora Innovation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $13.00 target price on shares of Aurora Innovation in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Aurora Innovation in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.25.

Aurora Innovation Stock Up 5.9%

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $6.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.37. The company has a market cap of $13.11 billion, a PE ratio of -15.22 and a beta of 2.63.

Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.97 million. Aurora Innovation had a negative net margin of 20,775.00% and a negative return on equity of 40.45%. Aurora Innovation’s revenue for the quarter was down 66.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Aurora Innovation, Inc. will post -0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Aurora Innovation

In related news, Director Reid Hoffman sold 5,498,487 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.81, for a total value of $42,943,183.47. Following the transaction, the director owned 77,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $605,275. The trade was a 98.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David M. Wehner purchased 82,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $6.04 per share, for a total transaction of $498,300.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 246,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,488,974.76. This represents a 50.30% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 7,048,487 shares of company stock valued at $54,295,119. 8.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aurora Innovation

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AUR. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Aurora Innovation by 18.0% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 398,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,718,000 after buying an additional 60,700 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Aurora Innovation by 20.2% in the second quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 298,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,035,000 after buying an additional 50,097 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Aurora Innovation by 79.7% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 3,770 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Aurora Innovation by 964.9% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 8,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 7,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional raised its holdings in Aurora Innovation by 4,070.6% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 17,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 17,422 shares in the last quarter. 44.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Aurora Innovation

Aurora Innovation, Inc is a technology company specializing in the development of self-driving vehicle systems for both passenger and commercial applications. Headquartered in Mountain View, California, Aurora has built an end-to-end platform—known as the Aurora Driver—that integrates proprietary software, machine learning algorithms and a suite of sensors (LiDAR, radar and cameras) to enable vehicles to operate safely and efficiently in diverse driving environments.

The company’s core business revolves around designing, testing and deploying its autonomy stack on vehicles from established automotive and transportation partners.