Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) Short Interest Update

Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,280,000 shares, a growth of 20.8% from the December 31st total of 1,060,000 shares. Approximately 2.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 206,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.2 days.

Aura Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AURA traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $7.85. 152,766 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 134,658. The firm has a market capitalization of $392.11 million, a P/E ratio of -4.54 and a beta of 0.30. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $8.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $8.91. Aura Biosciences has a 1 year low of $6.63 and a 1 year high of $12.38.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.42) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.44) by $0.02. As a group, equities analysts predict that Aura Biosciences will post -1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on AURA shares. BTIG Research boosted their price target on Aura Biosciences from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Aura Biosciences from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Insider Transactions at Aura Biosciences

In other Aura Biosciences news, insider Los Pinos Elisabet De sold 15,955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.67, for a total transaction of $122,374.85. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 304,692 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,336,987.64. This trade represents a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Janet Jill Hopkins sold 11,822 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.36, for a total value of $110,653.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 151,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,419,846.48. This represents a 7.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 28,778 shares of company stock valued at $240,706. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AURA. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences during the 4th quarter worth $87,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Aura Biosciences by 107.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 53,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 27,718 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Aura Biosciences by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,668,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,571,000 after purchasing an additional 215,597 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Aura Biosciences by 256.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 61,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 43,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aura Biosciences by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,008,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,990,000 after purchasing an additional 39,379 shares in the last quarter. 96.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Aura Biosciences

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.