Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $13.00 to $8.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $9.50 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, March 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.00.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of AUPH traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $5.10. The stock had a trading volume of 1,696,428 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,123,705. The company has a market capitalization of $729.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.44 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 5.50, a quick ratio of 4.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $4.71 and a 12-month high of $12.43. The company’s 50-day moving average is $5.20 and its 200 day moving average is $7.11.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.19) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $45.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.00 million. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 44.45% and a negative return on equity of 20.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 58.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.18) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals will post -0.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AUPH. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 196.1% during the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 349,204 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,750,000 after purchasing an additional 231,260 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 51.7% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 308,500 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,552,000 after buying an additional 105,100 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $158,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 78,466 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 8,398 shares during the period. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 67.4% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 27,802 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $139,000 after purchasing an additional 11,189 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.83% of the company’s stock.

About Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing therapies to treat various diseases with unmet medical need in the United States. It offers LUPKYNIS for the treatment of adult patients with active lupus nephritis. It has a collaboration and license agreement with Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd.