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

Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,130,000 shares, an increase of 7.6% from the October 15th total of 1,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 163,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.9 days. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Activity at Aura Biosciences

In related news, insider Los Pinos Elisabet De sold 9,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.74, for a total value of $98,808.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 320,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,443,748.78. This represents a 2.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Julie B. Feder sold 25,131 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.03, for a total value of $302,325.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 134,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,615,340.28. This represents a 15.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 67,259 shares of company stock worth $780,699. 5.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aura Biosciences

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AURA. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 138,356 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,233,000 after buying an additional 3,612 shares in the last quarter. American International Group Inc. raised its position in Aura Biosciences by 27.4% during the first quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 17,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 3,782 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Aura Biosciences by 14.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 64,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 8,194 shares during the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Aura Biosciences by 11.2% in the 1st quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 111,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $873,000 after purchasing an additional 11,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 26.3% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 72,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares during the last quarter. 96.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aura Biosciences Stock Performance

Aura Biosciences stock opened at $9.47 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $473.03 million, a P/E ratio of -5.47 and a beta of 0.33. Aura Biosciences has a fifty-two week low of $6.63 and a fifty-two week high of $12.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $9.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.54.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.42) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.44) by $0.02. Sell-side analysts predict that Aura Biosciences will post -1.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AURA shares. Scotiabank increased 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 report on Friday, October 18th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Aura Biosciences in a report on Thursday. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Aura Biosciences from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. BTIG Research raised their price target on Aura Biosciences from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aura Biosciences currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $23.00.

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.