Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,729,948 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 112,113 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals were worth $15,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 3,041.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,377 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 6,174 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 44.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,673 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 3,919 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $108,000. 36.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of AUPH opened at $7.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.11, a current ratio of 5.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 52 week low of $4.71 and a 52 week high of $10.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $7.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.10. The company has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -51.74 and a beta of 1.20.

Insider Activity

In other Aurinia Pharmaceuticals news, insider Greg Keenan sold 8,305 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.23, for a total transaction of $68,350.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 153,484 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,263,173.32. This trade represents a 5.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joseph M. Miller sold 61,859 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total value of $494,872.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 633,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,068,120. This trade represents a 8.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 343,898 shares of company stock valued at $2,753,094 in the last three months. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Profile

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing therapies to treat various diseases with unmet medical need in the United States. It offers LUPKYNIS for the treatment of adult patients with active lupus nephritis. It has a collaboration and license agreement with Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd.