Option Care Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPCH) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 19% in March to 10,561,809 shares as of March 31, representing about 6.8% of the float and a days-to-cover ratio of 6.6.
• Option Care reported Q4 EPS of $0.46 (in line with estimates) and revenue of $1.47 billion, up 8.8% year-over-year, while the stock recently traded around $28.82 with a market cap of roughly $4.52 billion.
• Analysts have an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target of $37.27, and institutional ownership is very high at 98.05%, with recent position increases from firms like RBC and AQR.

Option Care Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPCH - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 10,561,809 shares, an increase of 19.0% from the March 15th total of 8,874,559 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,605,017 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.6 days. Approximately 6.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Option Care Health Stock Performance

Option Care Health stock traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $28.82. 1,220,706 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,643,445. Option Care Health has a 12-month low of $24.24 and a 12-month high of $36.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.95. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $30.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.69.

Option Care Health (NASDAQ:OPCH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.46. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Option Care Health had a net margin of 3.67% and a return on equity of 18.57%. Option Care Health's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Option Care Health will post 1.22 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Option Care Health in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of Option Care Health in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. National Bank Financial set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Option Care Health in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $38.00 target price (up from $36.00) on shares of Option Care Health in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Option Care Health in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $37.27.

Institutional Trading of Option Care Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in OPCH. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Option Care Health by 20.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 231,161 shares of the company's stock worth $8,078,000 after buying an additional 39,661 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Option Care Health by 162.6% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 41,633 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,450,000 after buying an additional 25,777 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Option Care Health in the first quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Option Care Health by 2.7% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 294,363 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,561,000 after purchasing an additional 7,678 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Option Care Health by 528.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,407 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.05% of the company's stock.

Option Care Health Company Profile

Option Care Health NASDAQ: OPCH is a leading provider of home and alternate site infusion services in the United States. The company specializes in the administration of injectable therapies, including antibiotics, nutrition, hydration, immunoglobulin, pain management and specialty pharmaceuticals. Through its nationwide network of infusion pharmacies and nursing professionals, Option Care Health delivers customized care plans and in-home nursing visits to patients managing complex or chronic conditions outside of a hospital setting.

Option Care Health traces its current structure to the completion of its merger with BioScrip in early 2021, combining two of the industry's most experienced home infusion businesses.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.