OPKO Health (NASDAQ:OPK) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of OPKO Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPK) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $1.84, but opened at $1.94. OPKO Health shares last traded at $1.84, with a volume of 582,582 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on OPK. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $2.25 target price on shares of OPKO Health in a research report on Friday, February 28th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $3.00 target price on shares of OPKO Health in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded OPKO Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd.

OPKO Health Stock Down 1.9 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.97 and a quick ratio of 2.69. The company has a market capitalization of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of -9.50 and a beta of 1.70.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Phillip Md Et Al Frost bought 47,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $1.47 per share, for a total transaction of $69,879.39. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 213,234,014 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $313,454,000.58. This trade represents a 0.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 1,389,971 shares of company stock valued at $2,124,442. 47.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OPKO Health

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of OPKO Health by 9.6% during the third quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 48,706,640 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $72,573,000 after purchasing an additional 4,284,336 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in OPKO Health by 154.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 543,336 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $810,000 after buying an additional 329,870 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in OPKO Health by 736.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 246,967 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 217,450 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of OPKO Health in the third quarter worth $190,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of OPKO Health by 103.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 21,795 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 11,089 shares during the period. 64.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.