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

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

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of AUPH stock traded down $0.06 on Thursday, hitting $8.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 846,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,329,009. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $4.71 and a fifty-two week high of $10.67. The company has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of -56.40 and a beta of 1.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $8.09 and its 200-day moving average is $8.02. 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 the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total transaction of $494,872.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 633,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,068,120. This represents a 8.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Greg Keenan sold 12,239 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 $97,912.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 161,789 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,294,312. This represents a 7.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 343,898 shares of company stock valued at $2,753,094. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,635 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Natixis bought a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors own 36.83% of the company’s stock.

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.