Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Acquires 576,120 Shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH)

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) by 39.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,048,456 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 576,120 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 1.42% of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals worth $18,416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AUPH. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 138.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 55,428 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 32,137 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $2,089,000. Armistice Capital LLC increased its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 57.7% during the 4th quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 9,536,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $85,729,000 after purchasing an additional 3,488,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP increased its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 156,484 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares in the last quarter. 36.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ:AUPH opened at $5.51 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $786.06 million, a PE ratio of -12.81 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 5.60, a quick ratio of 5.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.36. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 12 month low of $4.71 and a 12 month high of $12.43.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $50.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $46.30 million. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 15.06% and a negative net margin of 32.69%. Research analysts forecast that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. will post 0.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on AUPH. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, March 1st. StockNews.com raised Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.00.

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.