Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $6.45, but opened at $6.83. Aurora Innovation shares last traded at $8.21, with a volume of 4,727,666 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AUR. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Aurora Innovation from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Aurora Innovation from $3.00 to $4.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Aurora Innovation from $2.00 to $2.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of Aurora Innovation in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Aurora Innovation in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.30.

Aurora Innovation Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $17.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.80 and a beta of 2.85. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.87.

Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. On average, analysts forecast that Aurora Innovation, Inc. will post -0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aurora Innovation

In related news, Director Reid Hoffman sold 537,837 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.48, for a total transaction of $2,947,346.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 286,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,568,633.56. This represents a 65.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gloria R. Boyland sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.30, for a total value of $189,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 344,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,171,276.10. The trade was a 8.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 13.83% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aurora Innovation

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AUR. Uber Technologies Inc bought a new position in shares of Aurora Innovation during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,053,632,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its holdings in Aurora Innovation by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 84,904,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $502,636,000 after purchasing an additional 12,466,085 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aurora Innovation by 206.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,848,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,983,000 after buying an additional 9,325,013 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aurora Innovation during the fourth quarter worth $45,772,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Aurora Innovation by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 26,671,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $168,030,000 after buying an additional 3,237,609 shares in the last quarter. 44.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aurora Innovation Company 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.