OPKO Health (NASDAQ:OPK) Sees Strong Trading Volume Following Insider Buying Activity

OPKO Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPK) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday following insider buying activity. Approximately 3,744,040 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 8% from the previous session’s volume of 4,068,860 shares.The stock last traded at $1.67 and had previously closed at $1.66.

Specifically, CEO Phillip Md Et Al Frost purchased 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $1.65 per share, for a total transaction of $165,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 213,751,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $352,689,889.20. The trade was a 0.05 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Phillip Md Et Al Frost bought 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $1.70 per share, with a total value of $255,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 213,651,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $363,207,461.60. This represents a 0.07 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on OPK. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $3.00 price target on shares of OPKO Health in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. StockNews.com upgraded OPKO Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $2.25 price objective on shares of OPKO Health in a report on Wednesday, March 12th.

OPKO Health Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a current ratio of 2.97. The stock has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.76 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.58.

OPKO Health (NASDAQ:OPK) last released its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $155.42 million. On average, equities analysts expect that OPKO Health, Inc. will post -0.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 11,089 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in OPKO Health by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,908 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 12,417 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of OPKO Health during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of OPKO Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of OPKO Health in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 64.63% of the company’s stock.

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.