1,443,333 Shares in Aura Biosciences, Inc. $AURA Purchased by Trails Edge Capital Partners LP

Trails Edge Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,443,333 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,247,665,000. Aura Biosciences accounts for 1.6% of Trails Edge Capital Partners LP’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Aura Biosciences in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Aura Biosciences by 130.4% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 3,206 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 49.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Water Island Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.75% of the company’s stock.

Aura Biosciences Stock Down 1.0%

NASDAQ AURA opened at $7.82 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $811.01 million, a PE ratio of -4.47 and a beta of 0.40. Aura Biosciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $4.73 and a 52 week high of $9.53. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.86.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.38) by ($0.10). As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Aura Biosciences, Inc. will post -1.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Aura Biosciences

In related news, insider Anthony S. Gibney sold 12,824 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.42, for a total transaction of $82,330.08. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 265,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,703,572.68. This represents a 4.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on AURA. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Aura Biosciences from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Leerink Partners set a $17.00 price objective on Aura Biosciences in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered Aura Biosciences from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. Finally, HC Wainwright decreased their target price on Aura Biosciences from $24.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $17.50.

Aura Biosciences 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.