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

Shares of Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $20.50.

AURA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aura Biosciences from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research note on Monday, March 30th.

Aura Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of Aura Biosciences stock opened at $7.26 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $466.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.06 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $6.33 and its 200 day moving average is $5.96. Aura Biosciences has a 1 year low of $4.34 and a 1 year high of $7.68.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 30th. The company reported ($0.37) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.43) by $0.06. On average, equities analysts expect that Aura Biosciences will post -1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aura Biosciences

In other Aura Biosciences news, insider Conor Kilroy sold 12,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.05, for a total transaction of $60,998.95. Following the transaction, the insider owned 167,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $844,531.70. This represents a 6.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Janet Jill Hopkins sold 20,401 shares of the company’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 $103,229.06. Following the transaction, the insider owned 232,284 shares in the company, valued at $1,175,357.04. This represents a 8.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 116,305 shares of company stock worth $611,230. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aura Biosciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Aura Biosciences by 49.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104 shares during the period. Water Island Capital LLC bought a new position in Aura Biosciences during the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,000. 49 Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Aura Biosciences during the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new position in Aura Biosciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. bought a new position in Aura Biosciences during the 2nd quarter valued at about $76,000. Institutional investors own 96.75% of the company’s stock.

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.