OPKO Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPK) Shares Acquired by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in OPKO Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPK - Free Report) by 143.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,548,667 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,502,342 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.37% of OPKO Health worth $3,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in shares of OPKO Health in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of OPKO Health in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of OPKO Health in the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in OPKO Health by 105.6% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in OPKO Health in the fourth quarter valued at $91,000. 64.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

OPKO Health Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:OPK traded down $0.01 on Thursday, hitting $1.30. 483,021 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,894,922. The stock has a market cap of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of -6.82 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1.48 and a 200-day moving average of $1.55. OPKO Health, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $1.19 and a fifty-two week high of $2.04.

OPKO Health (NASDAQ:OPK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $149.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $163.13 million. OPKO Health had a negative return on equity of 9.76% and a negative net margin of 18.65%. The business's revenue was down 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.12) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that OPKO Health, Inc. will post -0.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Phillip Md Et Al Frost bought 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $1.74 per share, for a total transaction of $348,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 213,501,448 shares in the company, valued at $371,492,519.52. This represents a 0.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders bought 767,434 shares of company stock worth $1,238,312 over the last three months. 49.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on OPK shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $3.00 target price on shares of OPKO Health in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Barrington Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $2.25 target price on shares of OPKO Health in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on OPKO Health in a research note on Friday, April 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered OPKO Health from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $2.75.

OPKO Health 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.