Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) Raised to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.0 %

AUPH stock opened at $8.29 on Thursday. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $4.71 and a one year high of $10.67. The company has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a PE ratio of -55.26 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $8.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 5.11 and a current ratio of 5.60.

Insider Transactions at Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CFO Joseph M. Miller sold 61,859 shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total value of $494,872.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 633,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,068,120. The trade was a 8.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Greg Keenan sold 12,239 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total transaction of $97,912.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 161,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,294,312. The trade was a 7.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 343,898 shares of company stock worth $2,753,094. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 368.5% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,350 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 2,635 shares during the period. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Natixis purchased a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. 36.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.