Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) Shares Down 9.8% – Time to Sell?

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) dropped 9.8% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $14.65 and last traded at $14.6530. Approximately 723,876 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 32% from the average daily volume of 1,058,789 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.25.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 6.8%

The stock has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 4.76, a current ratio of 5.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The business has a 50-day moving average of $15.11 and a 200-day moving average of $14.94.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $77.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $76.98 million. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 27.47% and a net margin of 101.46%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Kevin Tang acquired 516,439 shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $13.99 per share, with a total value of $7,224,981.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,845,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165,724,686.61. This trade represents a 4.56% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 12.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 65.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 367,661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,956,000 after buying an additional 145,179 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 8.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 503,543 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,048,000 after buying an additional 40,380 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 79,811 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $642,000 after buying an additional 3,497 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 21.0% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 20,699 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $175,000 after buying an additional 3,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 16.5% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 141,492 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,201,000 after buying an additional 20,027 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.83% of the company’s stock.

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.