Legal & General Group Plc Makes New Investment in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc $AUPH

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 104,414 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,747,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AUPH. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 15,643 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 1,765 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 14,065 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 1,883 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 53,721 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $857,000 after acquiring an additional 2,421 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 36.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AUPH shares. Zacks Research downgraded Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Bloom Burton upgraded Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.67.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AUPH opened at $16.08 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 7.02 and a beta of 1.40. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc has a fifty-two week low of $10.34 and a fifty-two week high of $19.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 4.97 and a current ratio of 5.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $15.81 and a 200-day moving average of $15.56.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.04. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 26.11% and a net margin of 100.84%.The business had revenue of $58.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $80.45 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.