Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,580,000 shares, a decrease of 13.0% from the August 31st total of 8,710,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,420,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.3 days.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ:AUPH traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $7.28. 790,979 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,701,720. The company has a quick ratio of 4.82, a current ratio of 5.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of -16.93 and a beta of 1.44. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $6.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.66. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $4.71 and a one year high of $10.05.

Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AUPH - Get Free Report) TSE: AUP last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The biotechnology company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.01. The company had revenue of $57.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $54.25 million. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 24.31% and a negative return on equity of 11.84%. The firm's revenue was up 37.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.08) earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Aurinia Pharmaceuticals news, insider Scott Michael Habig sold 18,249 shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.31, for a total value of $96,902.19. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 456,338 shares in the company, valued at $2,423,154.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aurinia Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Armistice Capital LLC grew its position in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 57.7% during the fourth quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 9,536,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $85,729,000 after buying an additional 3,488,000 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,048,456 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $18,416,000 after acquiring an additional 576,120 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,531,617 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $7,673,000 after acquiring an additional 21,119 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 18.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 488,721 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,791,000 after purchasing an additional 77,510 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals by 196.1% during the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 349,204 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,750,000 after purchasing an additional 231,260 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on AUPH. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, September 16th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $13.00 target price on shares of Aurinia Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, September 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $10.00.

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.