Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR) Trading 9.3% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR) traded up 9.3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $7.38 and last traded at $7.4550. 16,714,471 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 23,403,908 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.82.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on AUR. Wall Street Zen downgraded Aurora Innovation from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Aurora Innovation in a report on Friday, June 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Aurora Innovation from $4.70 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of Aurora Innovation in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Aurora Innovation in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.25.

Aurora Innovation Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $6.53 and its 200-day moving average is $5.13. The firm has a market cap of $14.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.12 and a beta of 2.62.

Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $0.01. Aurora Innovation had a negative net margin of 20,775.00% and a negative return on equity of 40.45%. The firm had revenue of $1.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.97 million. The firm’s revenue was down 66.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Aurora Innovation, Inc. will post -0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aurora Innovation

In related news, Director Reid Hoffman sold 1,202,354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.27, for a total value of $8,741,113.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David M. Wehner acquired 82,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.04 per share, with a total value of $498,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 246,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,488,974.76. This trade represents a 50.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,048,487 shares of company stock worth $54,295,119. 8.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Aurora Innovation by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its position in Aurora Innovation by 15.4% during the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 15,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC grew its holdings in Aurora Innovation by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 13,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 2,356 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in Aurora Innovation by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 34,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 2,406 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Aurora Innovation by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 14,686 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 2,458 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 44.71% of the company’s stock.

Aurora Innovation Company Profile

Aurora Innovation, Inc is a technology company specializing in the development of self-driving vehicle systems for both passenger and commercial applications. Headquartered in Mountain View, California, Aurora has built an end-to-end platform—known as the Aurora Driver—that integrates proprietary software, machine learning algorithms and a suite of sensors (LiDAR, radar and cameras) to enable vehicles to operate safely and efficiently in diverse driving environments.

The company’s core business revolves around designing, testing and deploying its autonomy stack on vehicles from established automotive and transportation partners.