Short Interest in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH) Drops By 20.1%

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,210,000 shares, a decline of 20.1% from the May 15th total of 11,530,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,360,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.8 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AUPH has been the subject of several research reports. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $13.00 price target on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, March 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $10.00.

Institutional Trading of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AUPH. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $65,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $92,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $78,000. 36.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

AUPH stock traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $5.52. The stock had a trading volume of 1,182,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,897,049. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.53. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $4.71 and a 52 week high of $12.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 5.60 and a quick ratio of 5.05.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH) (TSE:AUP) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by $0.14. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 15.06% and a negative net margin of 32.69%. The firm had revenue of $50.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $46.30 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals will post 0.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Company 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.