Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,917,730 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 112,296 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings in Aura Biosciences were worth $15,764,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AURA. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Aura Biosciences in the 4th quarter worth $87,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Aura Biosciences in the fourth quarter worth approximately $136,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Aura Biosciences during the 4th quarter worth about $172,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Aura Biosciences by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 47,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 12,081 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Aura Biosciences by 107.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 53,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 27,718 shares during the last quarter. 96.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aura Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of Aura Biosciences stock opened at $5.36 on Friday. Aura Biosciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $4.84 and a fifty-two week high of $12.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $6.76 and a 200 day moving average of $8.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $269.21 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.10 and a beta of 0.43.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 24th. The company reported ($0.52) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.43) by ($0.09). Analysts forecast that Aura Biosciences, Inc. will post -1.66 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AURA shares. Lifesci Capital raised Aura Biosciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. HC Wainwright set a $25.00 target price on shares of Aura Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, JMP Securities set a $19.00 price target on Aura Biosciences in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Los Pinos Elisabet De sold 15,955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.67, for a total value of $122,374.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 304,692 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,336,987.64. This represents a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Conor Kilroy sold 7,162 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.49, for a total transaction of $39,319.38. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 179,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $984,428.37. This trade represents a 3.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,104 shares of company stock worth $221,486 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Aura Biosciences Profile

Aura Biosciences, Inc, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, develops precision immunotherapies to treat a range of solid tumors. The company's proprietary platform enables the targeting of a range of solid tumors using virus-like particles conjugated with drugs or loaded with nucleic acids to create virus-like drug conjugates.