Short Interest in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH) Declines By 6.9%

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,390,000 shares, a drop of 6.9% from the March 31st total of 12,240,000 shares. Currently, 8.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,060,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.5 days.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

AUPH stock traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $5.09. The stock had a trading volume of 1,089,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,112,320. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.17. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $4.71 and a fifty-two week high of $12.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $736.12 million, a PE ratio of -9.24 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 5.50 and a quick ratio of 4.99.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $45.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.00 million. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 44.45% and a negative return on equity of 20.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 58.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.18) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals will post -0.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AUPH. Armistice Capital LLC raised its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 57.7% in the 4th quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 9,536,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $85,729,000 after acquiring an additional 3,488,000 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,048,456 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $18,416,000 after purchasing an additional 576,120 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $2,089,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 154.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 196,090 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,524,000 after buying an additional 118,990 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 560.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 100,706 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $782,000 after buying an additional 85,458 shares in the last quarter. 36.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AUPH shares. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $13.00 to $8.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $13.00 price target on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $9.50 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.00.

About Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

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.