Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Issues Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.10 EPS

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported ($0.48) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.38) by ($0.10), FiscalAI reports.

Aura Biosciences Trading Down 9.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:AURA traded down $0.75 on Wednesday, hitting $7.29. The company had a trading volume of 433,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 432,967. The company has a market cap of $754.08 million, a PE ratio of -4.19 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day moving average of $6.96 and a 200 day moving average of $6.71. Aura Biosciences has a 52-week low of $4.73 and a 52-week high of $9.53.

Insider Activity at Aura Biosciences

In other news, insider Anthony S. Gibney sold 12,824 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider directly owned 265,354 shares in the company, valued at $1,703,572.68. This represents a 4.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aura Biosciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AURA. Nantahala Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 67.1% during the 2nd quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 2,117,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,257,000 after purchasing an additional 850,000 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 432,117 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aura Biosciences by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,890,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,863,000 after buying an additional 413,001 shares during the last quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Aura Biosciences in the third quarter worth approximately $309,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Aura Biosciences by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 926,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,050,000 after purchasing an additional 47,663 shares in the last quarter. 96.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Aura Biosciences News

Here are the key news stories impacting Aura Biosciences this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HC Wainwright maintained a Buy rating and an $18 price target. Although the target was reduced from $24, it remains substantially above the stock’s recent $7.39 level, signaling that the analyst sees significant potential upside. HC Wainwright projects 2027 quarterly losses of $0.40 to $0.42 per share. StreetInsider analyst report
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is refocusing research and development on eye cancer. The strategic shift could concentrate resources on Aura’s core pipeline, but near-term execution and funding risks remain as the company continues to operate at a loss. Fierce Biotech workforce and management changes article
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data provides no useful trading signal. The reported short interest was zero, with a zero days-to-cover ratio; the data also showed an invalid percentage change, suggesting the figures may be incomplete or unreliable.
• Negative Sentiment: Aura reported a second-quarter 2026 loss of $0.48 per share, missing the consensus estimate of a $0.38 loss. The $0.10-per-share shortfall reinforces concerns about operating expenses and the company’s path toward profitability. Analysts expect a full-year loss of approximately $1.73 per share. Aura Biosciences second-quarter 2026 results
• Negative Sentiment: Aura is reportedly eliminating about 20% of its workforce and changing its executive structure. While the cuts may reduce costs, investors may interpret them as evidence of financial pressure or delays in the development strategy.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AURA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Leerink Partners set a $17.00 price target on Aura Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings raised Aura Biosciences from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. HC Wainwright lowered their price objective on shares of Aura Biosciences from $24.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aura Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.50.

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.