Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

17 Aug 2026, 17:21 by Mitch Edgeman · The Markets Daily

Shares of Aura Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:AURA – Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . 718,007 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 63% from the previous session’s volume of 439,304 shares.The stock last traded at $7.6070 and had previously closed at $7.69.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on AURA shares. Wall Street Zen cut Aura Biosciences from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday. Leerink Partners set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Aura Biosciences in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Aura Biosciences from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, HC Wainwright dropped their target price on shares of Aura Biosciences from $24.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.50.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Aura Biosciences

Aura Biosciences Stock Down 0.9%

The stock has a market cap of $790.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.35 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.75.

Aura Biosciences (NASDAQ:AURA – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.38) by ($0.10). As a group, analysts predict that Aura Biosciences, Inc. will post -1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aura Biosciences news, insider Anthony S. Gibney sold 12,824 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.42, for a total value of $82,330.08. Following the sale, the insider owned 265,354 shares in the company, valued at $1,703,572.68. This trade represents a 4.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences during the 1st quarter valued at $137,000. Invesco Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Aura Biosciences during the second quarter valued at $76,000. Nantahala Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aura Biosciences by 67.1% during the second quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 2,117,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,257,000 after purchasing an additional 850,000 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aura Biosciences by 31.1% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 84,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 20,065 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aura Biosciences in the second quarter worth $102,000. 96.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aura Biosciences Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Aura Biosciences is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel virus‐like particle (VLP) therapies for the treatment of cancer. By combining proprietary VLP technology with photoactivatable dyes, Aura aims to deliver highly selective photodynamic therapies that target and destroy tumor cells while sparing healthy tissue. The company’s platform is designed to address solid tumors in both ophthalmic and non‐ophthalmic settings, leveraging precision activation via near‐infrared light to induce localized tumor cell apoptosis and stimulate anti‐tumor immune responses.