OPKO Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPK) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of OPKO Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPK) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $2.2833.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised OPKO Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on OPKO Health in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of OPKO Health in a research report on Thursday. Barrington Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $2.25 target price on shares of OPKO Health in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $1.60 price target (down from $2.00) on shares of OPKO Health in a research note on Thursday, October 30th.

OPKO Health Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OPK opened at $1.32 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.70, a quick ratio of 3.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.37. OPKO Health has a 52 week low of $1.11 and a 52 week high of $2.04. The stock has a market cap of $1.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.28 and a beta of 1.39.

OPKO Health (NASDAQ:OPK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The biotechnology company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.05. OPKO Health had a negative net margin of 28.10% and a negative return on equity of 13.67%. The company had revenue of $151.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $165.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that OPKO Health will post -0.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at OPKO Health

In other news, CEO Phillip Md Et Al Frost bought 580,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $1.33 per share, with a total value of $771,400.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 216,706,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $288,219,575.84. The trade was a 0.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have purchased a total of 1,843,300 shares of company stock worth $2,421,491 in the last quarter. 49.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of OPKO Health

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OPK. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in OPKO Health during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of OPKO Health in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in OPKO Health by 57.0% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 79,534 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 28,884 shares during the last quarter. SIH Partners LLLP grew its stake in OPKO Health by 116.3% in the third quarter. SIH Partners LLLP now owns 150,125 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 80,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in OPKO Health by 97.0% in the third quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 77,886 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 38,352 shares during the last quarter. 64.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About OPKO Health

OPKO Health, Inc (NASDAQ:OPK) is a diversified, global healthcare company headquartered in Miami, Florida, with a focus on diagnostics, pharmaceuticals and biologics development. The company operates two main business segments—Laboratory Services and Pharma Services & Products—driven by its mission to advance patient care through innovation in testing and targeted therapies.

In its Laboratory Services segment, OPKO leverages BioReference Laboratories, one of the largest full-service commercial labs in the United States.