Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 947,100 shares, a drop of 16.2% from the October 31st total of 1,130,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 191,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.9 days. Approximately 2.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Aura Biosciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AURA traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $9.31. 144,237 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 180,448. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $465.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.38 and a beta of 0.33. Aura Biosciences has a 52 week low of $6.63 and a 52 week high of $12.38.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AURA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Aura Biosciences from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Aura Biosciences from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Lifesci Capital raised shares of Aura Biosciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Aura Biosciences from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $23.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CTO Mark Plavsic sold 7,383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.85, for a total transaction of $72,722.55. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 121,132 shares in the company, valued at $1,193,150.20. This trade represents a 5.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Janet Jill Hopkins sold 11,822 shares of Aura Biosciences stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.36, for a total transaction of $110,653.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 151,693 shares in the company, valued at $1,419,846.48. The trade was a 7.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 79,081 shares of company stock worth $891,353 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aura Biosciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. American Century Companies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences during the second quarter worth approximately $119,000. American International Group Inc. increased its stake in Aura Biosciences by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 17,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 3,782 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Aura Biosciences in the 1st quarter valued at $144,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences during the 3rd quarter valued at $169,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Aura Biosciences by 39.6% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 63,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 18,011 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.75% of the company’s stock.

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.