Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH) Short Interest Up 29.2% in January

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP saw a significant growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,480,000 shares, a growth of 29.2% from the December 31st total of 5,790,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,410,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $10.00.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ AUPH traded up $0.20 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $8.01. 843,397 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,353,189. The company has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of -53.40 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 5.60, a quick ratio of 5.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $4.71 and a fifty-two week high of $10.67. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $8.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.52.

Insider Transactions at Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Jeffrey Allen Bailey sold 4,557 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.43, for a total transaction of $38,415.51. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $112,591.08. This represents a 25.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,945,060 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $21,587,000 after buying an additional 64,949 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 187.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 219,331 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 143,072 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $3,330,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 4,307.9% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 547,727 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,015,000 after purchasing an additional 535,301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 106.8% during the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 193,804 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,107,000 after purchasing an additional 100,104 shares during the last quarter. 36.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.