Nantahala Capital Management LLC Invests $20.95 Million in Aura Biosciences, Inc. $AURA

Nantahala Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 2,951,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,952,313.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Aura Biosciences during the second quarter worth $29,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Aura Biosciences by 130.4% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 3,206 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Aura Biosciences by 49.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104 shares in the last quarter. Water Island Capital LLC purchased a new position in Aura Biosciences during the 3rd quarter worth $64,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Aura Biosciences during the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.75% of the company’s stock.

Aura Biosciences Trading Down 3.9%

AURA stock opened at $7.40 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.89. Aura Biosciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $4.73 and a 1-year high of $9.53. The stock has a market cap of $767.45 million, a P/E ratio of -4.23 and a beta of 0.40.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.38) by ($0.10). As a group, analysts forecast that Aura Biosciences, Inc. will post -1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aura Biosciences from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. HC Wainwright cut their price target on shares of Aura Biosciences from $24.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Leerink Partners set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aura Biosciences from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aura Biosciences

In related news, insider Anthony S. Gibney sold 12,824 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.42, for a total transaction of $82,330.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 265,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,703,572.68. This represents a 4.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 1.90% 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.