Opus Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Eighteen firms collectively rate Opus Genetics “Moderate Buy,” including 15 buy and one strong-buy recommendation. The average 12-month price target is $11.92, well above the stock’s reported price of $4.84.
• Opus Genetics remains an early-stage, loss-making biotech: It reported a quarterly loss of $0.14 per share, better than estimates, but revenue of $0.76 million fell short of the $2.63 million forecast. Analysts expect a full-year loss of $0.99 per share.
• Insiders have recently sold shares while institutions increased exposure: Executives sold shares primarily to cover tax obligations, while hedge funds and other institutional investors own about 14.97% of the company and several funds initiated or expanded positions.

Opus Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRD - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation, fifteen have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $11.92.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Opus Genetics in a research note on Friday, July 17th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Opus Genetics in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Chardan Capital lifted their price target on shares of Opus Genetics from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Opus Genetics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $12.00 price objective on shares of Opus Genetics in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th.

Opus Genetics Stock Performance

Opus Genetics stock opened at $4.84 on Thursday. Opus Genetics has a 1 year low of $1.62 and a 1 year high of $7.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $4.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.41. The company has a market cap of $400.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.59 and a beta of 0.58.

Opus Genetics (NASDAQ:IRD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.16) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $0.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 million. Opus Genetics had a negative net margin of 1,091.82% and a negative return on equity of 338.88%. Sell-side analysts predict that Opus Genetics will post -0.99 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Opus Genetics news, CFO Robert E. Gagnon sold 28,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.54, for a total transaction of $127,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 556,375 shares in the company, valued at $2,525,942.50. The trade was a 4.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO George Magrath sold 9,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.95, for a total value of $27,951.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,731,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,109,013.55. The trade was a 0.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 57,331 shares of company stock valued at $213,749. 11.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Opus Genetics

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Opaleye Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Opus Genetics by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 1,125,000 shares of the company's stock worth $4,624,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in Opus Genetics in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Opus Genetics during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,360,000. Nantahala Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Opus Genetics during the second quarter valued at approximately $12,582,185. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Opus Genetics during the second quarter worth $173,000. 14.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Opus Genetics Company Profile

Opus Genetics, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing gene therapies for inherited retinal diseases (IRDs), a group of rare genetic disorders that can cause progressive vision loss or blindness. The company aims to address conditions for which treatment options are limited or unavailable by developing therapies designed to correct or replace disease-causing genetic defects in retinal cells.

Opus Genetics' pipeline includes investigational programs for genetically defined retinal disorders, including rhodopsin-associated autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa and BEST1-related retinal disease.

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