Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) CTO Mark Plavsic Sells 15,890 Shares

Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) CTO Mark Plavsic sold 15,890 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.05, for a total value of $80,244.50. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 181,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $916,054.85. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Aura Biosciences Trading Down 5.7%

Aura Biosciences stock opened at $5.25 on Wednesday. Aura Biosciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $4.34 and a 12 month high of $8.03. The company has a market capitalization of $333.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.71 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $5.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.97.

Key Aura Biosciences News

Here are the key news stories impacting Aura Biosciences this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest entries on Feb. 16–17 report a “large/significant increase” but show 0 shares and NaN changes, indicating likely data/reporting errors rather than genuine new short activity. This is an uncertain/neutral factor.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — Los Pinos Elisabet De (insider) sold 47,648 shares at an average ~$5.06 (reducing her stake ~10.42%). SEC filing: Los Pinos Elisabet De sale
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — Amy Elazzouzi (SVP) sold 8,549 shares at an average ~$5.06 (reducing her stake ~10.17%). SEC filing: Amy Elazzouzi sale
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — Janet Jill Hopkins sold 20,401 shares at an average ~$5.06 (reducing her stake ~8.07%). SEC filing: Janet Jill Hopkins sale
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — Mark Plavsic (CTO) sold 15,890 shares at an average ~$5.05 (reducing his stake ~8.05%). SEC filing: Mark Plavsic sale
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — Conor Kilroy sold 12,079 shares at an average ~$5.05 (reducing his stake ~6.74%). SEC filing: Conor Kilroy sale

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on AURA shares. Evercore began coverage on Aura Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.50.

Institutional Trading of Aura Biosciences

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Permanent Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Aura Biosciences during the third quarter valued at approximately $913,000. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. raised its position in Aura Biosciences by 9.9% in the second quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 1,495,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,362,000 after acquiring an additional 134,792 shares during the period. B Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aura Biosciences by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. B Group Inc. now owns 572,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,584,000 after acquiring an additional 100,000 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,340,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,653,000 after acquiring an additional 130,221 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc bought a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences during the 2nd quarter valued at $190,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.75% of the company’s stock.

Aura Biosciences Company Profile

Aura Biosciences is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel virus‐like particle (VLP) therapies for the treatment of cancer. By combining proprietary VLP technology with photoactivatable dyes, Aura aims to deliver highly selective photodynamic therapies that target and destroy tumor cells while sparing healthy tissue. The company’s platform is designed to address solid tumors in both ophthalmic and non‐ophthalmic settings, leveraging precision activation via near‐infrared light to induce localized tumor cell apoptosis and stimulate anti‐tumor immune responses.

The lead product candidate, AU-011, is being evaluated in patients with choroidal melanoma, a rare but potentially sight-threatening eye cancer.