Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases New Position in Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR)

Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 12,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aurora Innovation by 229.4% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 705,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,175,000 after acquiring an additional 491,125 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Aurora Innovation by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,424,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,875,000 after purchasing an additional 1,776,513 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Advisors Ltd. purchased a new stake in Aurora Innovation during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,184,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Aurora Innovation by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,183,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,325,000 after buying an additional 2,920,653 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning purchased a new position in shares of Aurora Innovation in the 3rd quarter worth $652,000. Institutional investors own 44.71% of the company’s stock.

Aurora Innovation Stock Performance

AUR opened at $6.10 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $6.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.04. Aurora Innovation, Inc. has a one year low of $2.10 and a one year high of $8.44. The stock has a market cap of $10.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.45 and a beta of 2.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AUR. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Aurora Innovation in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Aurora Innovation in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Aurora Innovation from $3.00 to $5.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Aurora Innovation from $3.00 to $4.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Aurora Innovation in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $10.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aurora Innovation

In other news, Director Gloria R. Boyland sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.30, for a total transaction of $189,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 344,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,171,276.10. This represents a 8.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Reid Hoffman sold 3,500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.58, for a total value of $19,530,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 382,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,133,931.50. This represents a 90.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,776,667 shares of company stock valued at $48,432,337 in the last quarter. 13.83% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Aurora Innovation Profile

Aurora Innovation, Inc operates as a self-driving technology company in the United States. It focuses on developing Aurora Driver, a platform that brings a suite of self-driving hardware, software, and data services together to adapt and interoperate vehicles. The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.