Opthea (NASDAQ:OPT) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Leerink Partnrs

Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Opthea (NASDAQ:OPT) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

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

Opthea Stock Performance

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Opthea

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in OPT. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in shares of Opthea during the fourth quarter valued at about $556,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Opthea during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $114,000. Citadel Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Opthea in the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,000. Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Opthea in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Finally, OLD Mission Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Opthea during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 55.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Opthea Company Profile

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.