Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) Shares Up 7.1% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) shot up 7.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $8.55 and last traded at $8.65. 401,424 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 1,425,489 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.08.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.85. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -58.51 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 5.60 and a quick ratio of 5.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Peter Greenleaf sold 195,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.00, for a total transaction of $1,564,744.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,953,892 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,631,136. This trade represents a 9.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Joseph M. Miller sold 61,859 shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 633,515 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,068,120. This represents a 8.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 335,593 shares of company stock valued at $2,684,744. 4.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AUPH. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 368.5% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,350 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 2,635 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Natixis purchased a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. 36.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.