Opthea Limited (NASDAQ:OPT) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Opthea Limited (NASDAQ:OPT) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 522,200 shares, an increase of 20.7% from the February 28th total of 432,800 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 31,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 16.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on OPT shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Opthea to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. HC Wainwright cut Opthea from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $12.00 to $2.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Opthea from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Opthea from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Opthea from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $12.00 to $1.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citadel Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Opthea during the 4th quarter valued at $79,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in shares of Opthea during the fourth quarter valued at about $556,000. OLD Mission Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Opthea in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in Opthea in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Opthea during the 3rd quarter valued at about $81,000. 55.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Opthea Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OPT remained flat at $3.41 during mid-day trading on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $4.36 and a 200 day moving average of $4.08. Opthea has a one year low of $1.79 and a one year high of $6.30.

About Opthea

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.