Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 78,963 Shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 665,087 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 78,963 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AUPH. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bailard Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $128,000. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 61.9% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 19,366 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 7,406 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 271,132 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,435,000 after buying an additional 64,107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $108,000. 36.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com cut Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th.

Insider Transactions at Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Greg Keenan sold 8,305 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.23, for a total value of $68,350.15. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 153,484 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,263,173.32. This represents a 5.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter Greenleaf sold 195,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total transaction of $1,564,744.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,953,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,631,136. This trade represents a 9.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 343,898 shares of company stock valued at $2,753,094 over the last three months. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.1 %

AUPH opened at $8.53 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $8.03 and a 200 day moving average of $8.01. The company has a current ratio of 5.60, a quick ratio of 5.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 12 month low of $4.71 and a 12 month high of $10.67. The company has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of -56.86 and a beta of 1.26.

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.