Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in OPKO Health, Inc. $OPK

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in OPKO Health, purchasing an additional 293,740 shares, bringing its total holdings to about 29.5 million shares, valued at nearly $49 million.
• CEO Phillip Frost acquired 675,000 shares of OPKO Health stock at $1.32 per share, boosting his total ownership to approximately 214.7 million shares.
• Recent analyst reports reflect mixed ratings for OPKO Health, with Zacks upgrading it to "hold" while Barrington set a target price of $2.25, amidst a broader consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in OPKO Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPK - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,500,071 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 293,740 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 3.72% of OPKO Health worth $48,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in OPKO Health in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in OPKO Health in the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in OPKO Health in the 1st quarter worth $43,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in OPKO Health by 75.3% in the 4th 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. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in OPKO Health by 105.6% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 43,167 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 22,167 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.63% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other OPKO Health news, CEO Phillip Md Et Al Frost bought 675,000 shares of OPKO Health stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $1.32 per share, for a total transaction of $891,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 214,676,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $283,372,911.36. This trade represents a 0.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 49.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on OPK. Zacks Research upgraded OPKO Health from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded OPKO Health to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered OPKO Health from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $2.75.

OPKO Health Trading Down 2.8%

NASDAQ:OPK traded down $0.04 on Friday, reaching $1.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,663,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,635,692. OPKO Health, Inc. has a 12-month low of $1.11 and a 12-month high of $2.04. The company has a quick ratio of 3.02, a current ratio of 3.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.52 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.45.

OPKO Health (NASDAQ:OPK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The biotechnology company reported ($0.19) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.12) by ($0.07). OPKO Health had a negative net margin of 26.68% and a negative return on equity of 13.17%. The business had revenue of $156.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $165.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.01) EPS. OPKO Health's revenue for the quarter was down 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that OPKO Health, Inc. will post -0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

OPKO Health Company Profile

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.