Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Insider Conor Kilroy Sells 12,079 Shares

Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) insider Conor Kilroy sold 12,079 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.05, for a total transaction of $60,998.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 167,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $844,531.70. This trade represents a 6.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Aura Biosciences Trading Down 5.7%

Shares of Aura Biosciences stock opened at $5.25 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $5.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.97. Aura Biosciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $4.34 and a 12-month high of $8.03. The stock has a market cap of $333.38 million, a PE ratio of -2.71 and a beta of 0.46.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aura Biosciences

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Frazier Life Sciences Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences in the second quarter worth $31,926,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Aura Biosciences by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,890,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,863,000 after purchasing an additional 413,001 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Aura Biosciences by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,340,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,653,000 after purchasing an additional 130,221 shares during the last quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Aura Biosciences by 67.1% in the 2nd quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 2,117,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,257,000 after purchasing an additional 850,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Levin Capital Strategies L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Aura Biosciences by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 1,627,274 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,057,000 after purchasing an additional 131,714 shares during the last quarter. 96.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on AURA. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Evercore assumed coverage on Aura Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.50.

More 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

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.