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

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Phillip Md Et Al Frost acquired 150,000 shares of OPKO Health stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $1.47 per share, with a total value of $220,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 213,186,477 shares in the company, valued at $313,384,121.19. This trade represents a 0.07 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 1,214,971 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,692. Company insiders own 49.69% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of OPKO Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of OPKO Health by 103.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,795 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 11,089 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in OPKO Health by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,908 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 12,417 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC bought a new position in OPKO Health in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in OPKO Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Zacks Investment Management bought a new stake in OPKO Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 64.63% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

OPKO Health Stock Down 1.3 %

OPKO Health stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1.55. The stock had a trading volume of 4,454,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,020,312. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $1.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.58. OPKO Health has a 12 month low of $1.15 and a 12 month high of $2.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.16 and a beta of 1.70.

OPKO Health (NASDAQ:OPK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The biotechnology company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $183.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $155.42 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that OPKO Health will post -0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.