Opthea (NASDAQ:OPT) Cut to “Hold” at Leerink Partnrs

Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Opthea (NASDAQ:OPT) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on OPT. Oppenheimer cut shares of Opthea from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday. Leerink Partners cut Opthea from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $12.00 to $1.00 in a report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Opthea to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. HC Wainwright cut Opthea from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $12.00 to $2.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $1.00 price objective (down from $8.00) on shares of Opthea in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Opthea currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1.33.

Opthea Trading Up 7.2 %

OPT opened at $3.41 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $4.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.07. Opthea has a twelve month low of $1.79 and a twelve month high of $6.30.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Opthea

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OPT. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in shares of Opthea in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. OLD Mission Capital LLC purchased a new position in Opthea in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Citadel Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Opthea in the 4th quarter worth $79,000. Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Opthea during the 3rd quarter valued at $81,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Opthea during the 3rd quarter worth $114,000. 55.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Opthea

Opthea Limited, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development and commercialization of therapies primarily for eye disease in Australia. The company's development activities are based on the intellectual property portfolio covering Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors (VEGF) VEGF-C, VEGF-D, and VEGF Receptor-3 for the treatment of diseases associated with blood and lymphatic vessel growth, as well as vascular leakage.