Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Trims Stock Position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH – Get Rating) (TSE:AUP) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,400 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 3,200 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals were worth $79,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 54.2% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,250 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,142 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 22.3% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 6,533 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 34,032 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,292 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 32,710 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 1,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 27,860 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Peter Greenleaf sold 32,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.94, for a total transaction of $292,785.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,968 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,787,733.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Peter Greenleaf sold 32,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.94, for a total transaction of $292,785.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 982,968 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,787,733.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director George M. Milne, Jr. bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.91 per share, for a total transaction of $178,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 70,000 shares in the company, valued at $623,700. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 63,448 shares of company stock worth $567,225. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 6.2 %

NASDAQ:AUPH opened at $10.21 on Wednesday. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 12 month low of $4.07 and a 12 month high of $13.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $10.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.03. The firm has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.24 and a beta of 1.18.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH – Get Rating) (TSE:AUP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.18) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.23) by $0.05. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 23.56% and a negative net margin of 65.90%. The company had revenue of $34.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.12 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.27) EPS. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 59.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -0.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Profile

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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 and internationally. The company offers LUPKYNIS for the treatment of adult patients with active lupus nephritis.