Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) Shares Gap Up to $5.20

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $5.20, but opened at $5.68. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $5.43, with a volume of 450,481 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AUPH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 23rd. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $13.00 price objective on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, March 1st. StockNews.com raised Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced 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 note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $9.50 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.00.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 4.99 and a current ratio of 5.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $5.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.11.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.03). Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 32.69% and a negative return on equity of 14.79%. The business had revenue of $45.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.18) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 58.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post -0.06 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 95.9% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,673 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $92,000. Institutional investors 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.