Brokerages Set Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) Target Price at $20.50

Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.50.

AURA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a report on Friday. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Aura Biosciences in a report on Monday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Amy Elazzouzi sold 8,549 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.06, for a total transaction of $43,257.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 75,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $382,191.92. This trade represents a 10.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Los Pinos Elisabet De sold 47,648 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.06, for a total transaction of $241,098.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 409,815 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,073,663.90. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 123,076 shares of company stock valued at $618,783. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aura Biosciences

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AURA. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Aura Biosciences by 49.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104 shares during the last quarter. Water Island Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,000. 49 Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Aura Biosciences in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $66,000. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Aura Biosciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. purchased a new stake in Aura Biosciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $76,000. 96.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aura Biosciences Trading Up 7.9%

Shares of AURA opened at $6.69 on Friday. Aura Biosciences has a 12-month low of $4.34 and a 12-month high of $7.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $424.82 million, a P/E ratio of -3.74 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $5.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.86.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 30th. The company reported ($0.37) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.43) by $0.06. Equities research analysts predict that Aura Biosciences will post -1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.