Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) Shares Cross Below 50 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP)’s stock price passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $14.75 and traded as low as $14.41. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $14.80, with a volume of 857,112 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $15.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.25.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.0%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 5.25 and a quick ratio of 4.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.91 and a beta of 1.53.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The biotechnology company reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $1.32. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 27.47% and a net margin of 101.46%.The firm had revenue of $77.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.70 million. Equities analysts expect that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc will post 0.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Kevin Tang purchased 516,439 shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.99 per share, for a total transaction of $7,224,981.61. Following the purchase, the director owned 11,845,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165,724,686.61. This trade represents a 4.56% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 12.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,407 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 1,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $91,000. Institutional investors own 36.83% of the company’s stock.

About Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for autoimmune diseases. The company’s proprietary molecule, voclosporin, is designed to selectively inhibit calcineurin and reduce inflammation associated with autoimmune responses. Aurinia operates research and development facilities in Canada and the United States, leveraging collaborations with academic institutions and contract research organizations to advance its clinical pipeline.

The company’s lead product, voclosporin (marketed as LUPKYNIS), received approval from the U.S.