Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH)

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors purchased 2,569 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 49% compared to the average volume of 1,729 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Scott Michael Habig sold 18,249 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.31, for a total value of $96,902.19. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 456,338 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,423,154.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 4.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighMark Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 75,196 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 2,197 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 28,634 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 2,390 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 34,464 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $173,000 after acquiring an additional 2,873 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.00.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ AUPH opened at $6.43 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $917.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.95 and a beta of 1.44. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $4.71 and a one year high of $10.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 5.60 and a quick ratio of 5.05. The business’s fifty day moving average is $5.61 and its 200-day moving average is $5.56.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01. The company had revenue of $57.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $54.25 million. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 11.75% and a negative net margin of 24.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 37.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.08) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals will post 0.15 EPS for the current year.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.