Short Interest in Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) Increases By 20.8%

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank raised their target price on Aura Biosciences from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Aura Biosciences from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Aura Biosciences in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Aura Biosciences has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $23.00.

Aura Biosciences Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AURA traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $7.85. 152,766 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 134,658. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $8.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.91. Aura Biosciences has a 52-week low of $6.63 and a 52-week high of $12.38. The company has a market cap of $392.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.54 and a beta of 0.30.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aura Biosciences news, insider Janet Jill Hopkins sold 11,822 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 151,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,419,846.48. The trade was a 7.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Los Pinos Elisabet De sold 15,955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.67, for a total transaction of $122,374.85. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 304,692 shares in the company, valued at $2,336,987.64. The trade was a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,778 shares of company stock worth $240,706 in the last 90 days. 5.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Aura Biosciences

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

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.