Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR) is in focus on Wednesday. Amid a choppy day in the market and amid some selling pressure in tech stocks, AUR stock is faring quite well. Shares are up more than 22% so far on the day.
So what’s driving the gains today? It’s been reported that Aurora Innovation CFO Richard Tame will present at an auto industry conference. Specifically, Tame will “participate in a fireside chat at the Deutsche Bank Global Auto Industry Conference on June 13, 2023, at 9:30 am Eastern time.”
Aurora works in the autonomous driving space with a specific focus on freight. According to the company, “In 2024, Aurora plans to launch Horizon, the first autonomous service powered by the Aurora Driver, designed to bring safety, value, and efficiency to carriers and fleet owners.”
Further, “We’re defining the future of logistics operations with our customers by operating the Aurora Driver in real-world, commercially-representative pilots, moving goods in their networks.”
Aurora partners with several notable companies within the space. Some of them include FedEx (NYSE:FDX), Toyota (NYSE:TM), Volvo, Uber (NYSE:UBER) Freight), Peterbilt and others.
What’s Going on With AUR Stock on June 26?
With Tame participating in a conference on June 13, what does that have to do with June 26? Aurora Innovation is not participating in any conferences that day. Instead, AUR stock will be added to the Russell 3000. From the release:
“As part of the annual reconstitution of the Russell stock indexes, Aurora is expected to be included in the Russell 3000® Index effective after the U.S. market opens on June 26, 2023. A preliminary list of index additions, including Aurora Innovation, was posted by FTSE Russell on May 19, 2023.”
While the stock commands a relatively small price — currently hitting multi-month highs at just under $2 a share — the market cap is more impressive at $2.25 billion. As such, its inclusion in this index shouldn’t be a complete surprise for small-cap investors.
According to co-founder and CEO Chris Urmson:
“We are pleased to be included in the Russell 3000® Index, one of the most widely cited performance benchmarks for the U.S. stock market…This milestone increases our global visibility, expands our investor base, and highlights the momentum in our path to commercial launch.”
The stock has enjoyed quite the run lately.
AUR stock has had just one down day in the last eight sessions (although in two of those sessions, the stock finished flat). Nevertheless, shares are higher by about 50% in that span.
If shares can continue higher, the $2.17 area is on watch. That’s the current 2023 high. If the stock closes above it, bulls may turn their attention up to $3.27, which is the 52-week high from last summer.
On the date of publication, Bret Kenwell did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
