OptiNose (NASDAQ:OPTN) Cut to “Hold” at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler cut shares of OptiNose (NASDAQ:OPTN) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on OPTN. HC Wainwright reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $9.00 price target (down from $18.00) on shares of OptiNose in a report on Friday. Lake Street Capital downgraded OptiNose from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Thursday.

OptiNose Stock Performance

NASDAQ:OPTN opened at $9.15 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $92.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.18 and a beta of -0.30. OptiNose has a one year low of $4.82 and a one year high of $25.20. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ramy A. Mahmoud sold 6,376 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.29, for a total transaction of $33,729.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,931 shares in the company, valued at $671,464.99. This represents a 4.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,213 shares of company stock worth $43,643. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of OptiNose

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC raised its holdings in OptiNose by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,541,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,083,000 after buying an additional 518,610 shares during the period. Stonepine Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of OptiNose by 142.1% in the third quarter. Stonepine Capital Management LLC now owns 5,688,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,811,000 after purchasing an additional 3,338,580 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of OptiNose by 5.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,075,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 155,329 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in OptiNose by 33.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,298,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $870,000 after purchasing an additional 326,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acorn Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in OptiNose in the 4th quarter valued at $2,824,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.60% of the company’s stock.

About OptiNose

OptiNose, Inc, a specialty pharmaceutical company, focuses on the development and commercialization of products for patients treated by ear, nose, throat, and allergy specialists in the United States. The company offers XHANCE, a therapeutic product utilizing its proprietary exhalation delivery system (EDS) that delivers a topically acting corticosteroid for the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, as well as is in Phase IIIb clinical trial for treatment of chronic sinusitis; and Onzetra Xsail, a powder EDS device.