Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $85,000 Stock Holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) by 50.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 11,641 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 11,951 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals were worth $85,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 63.7% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 27,502 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $202,000 after acquiring an additional 10,700 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 247.7% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 11,483 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 8,180 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 13.2% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 60,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 7,100 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 4,307.9% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 547,727 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,015,000 after buying an additional 535,301 shares during the period. Finally, Stonepine Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,713,000. 36.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

AUPH stock opened at $8.71 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $7.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.41. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. has a 1 year low of $4.71 and a 1 year high of $9.74. The stock has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of -58.07 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a current ratio of 5.60, a quick ratio of 5.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Insider Transactions at Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Jeffrey Allen Bailey sold 4,557 shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.43, for a total value of $38,415.51. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,356 shares in the company, valued at $112,591.08. This trade represents a 25.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 4.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 target price on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, September 6th. StockNews.com raised Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.00.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.