OPKO Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPK) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

OPKO Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPK) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 111,000,000 shares, a growth of 24.1% from the February 28th total of 89,470,000 shares. Approximately 36.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 4,640,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 23.9 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Phillip Md Et Al Frost bought 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $1.47 per share, with a total value of $220,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 213,186,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $313,384,121.19. This trade represents a 0.07 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have purchased 1,214,971 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,692 over the last ninety days. 49.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OPKO Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in OPKO Health in the third quarter valued at approximately $190,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of OPKO Health by 103.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,795 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 11,089 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of OPKO Health by 736.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 246,967 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 217,450 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of OPKO Health during the 3rd quarter worth $201,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of OPKO Health during the 3rd quarter worth $138,000. 64.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

OPKO Health Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OPK opened at $1.65 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.11 billion, a PE ratio of -8.68 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.97 and a quick ratio of 2.69. OPKO Health has a fifty-two week low of $1.15 and a fifty-two week high of $2.04.

OPKO Health (NASDAQ:OPK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.09. OPKO Health had a negative return on equity of 9.76% and a negative net margin of 18.65%. The company had revenue of $183.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $155.42 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that OPKO Health will post -0.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com raised OPKO Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $3.00 price target on shares of OPKO Health in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $2.25 price objective on shares of OPKO Health in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th.

About OPKO Health

OPKO Health, Inc, a healthcare company, engages in the diagnostics and pharmaceuticals businesses in the United States, Ireland, Chile, Spain, Israel, Mexico, and internationally. The company's Diagnostics segment operates BioReference Laboratories that offers laboratory testing services for the detection, diagnosis, evaluation, monitoring, and treatment of diseases, including esoteric testing, molecular diagnostics, anatomical pathology, genetics, women's health, and correctional healthcare to physician offices, clinics, hospitals, employers, and governmental units; and 4Kscore prostate cancer test.