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

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

Aura Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of Aura Biosciences stock traded up $0.10 on Friday, hitting $7.77. The company had a trading volume of 112,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 146,793. The firm has a market capitalization of $388.11 million, a P/E ratio of -4.49 and a beta of 0.30. Aura Biosciences has a twelve month low of $6.63 and a twelve month high of $12.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.62 and a 200-day moving average of $8.88.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AURA shares. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research report on Friday, October 18th. 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 report on Friday, October 18th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of Aura Biosciences in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price objective on Aura Biosciences from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $23.00.

Insider Transactions at Aura Biosciences

In related news, insider Los Pinos Elisabet De sold 9,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.74, for a total transaction of $98,808.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 320,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,443,748.78. The trade was a 2.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Janet Jill Hopkins sold 11,822 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 151,693 shares in the company, valued at $1,419,846.48. This represents a 7.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,575 shares of company stock valued at $215,401. 5.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aura Biosciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $119,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences during the third quarter worth $169,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Aura Biosciences by 107.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 53,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 27,718 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in Aura Biosciences by 256.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 61,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $544,000 after buying an additional 43,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Aura Biosciences by 39.6% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 63,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 18,011 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.75% of the company’s stock.

Aura Biosciences Company Profile

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.