Opthea (NASDAQ:OPT) Trading Up 7.2% - What's Next?

Opthea Limited (NASDAQ:OPT - Get Free Report) shares shot up 7.2% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $3.48 and last traded at $3.41. 3,000 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 26,905 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on OPT shares. Leerink Partners cut Opthea from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $12.00 to $1.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Oppenheimer cut Opthea from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. HC Wainwright cut shares of Opthea from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $12.00 to $2.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $1.00 price target (down from $8.00) on shares of Opthea in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Opthea from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Opthea currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1.33.

Opthea Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.80.

Institutional Trading of Opthea

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OPT. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in Opthea in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. OLD Mission Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Opthea during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of Opthea during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $556,000. Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Opthea in the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,000. Finally, Regal Partners Ltd raised its stake in Opthea by 78.6% during the 1st quarter. Regal Partners Ltd now owns 5,193,688 shares of the company's stock worth $17,710,000 after acquiring an additional 2,286,285 shares during the period. 55.95% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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