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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Thursday.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ AUPH opened at $8.46 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -56.40 and a beta of 1.26. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $4.71 and a one year high of $10.67. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 5.60 and a quick ratio of 5.11.

Insider Activity at Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Greg Keenan sold 8,305 shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.23, for a total value of $68,350.15. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 153,484 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,263,173.32. The trade was a 5.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joseph M. Miller sold 61,859 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total value of $494,872.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 633,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,068,120. This trade represents a 8.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 343,898 shares of company stock valued at $2,753,094. Insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.