HC Wainwright Downgrades Opthea (NASDAQ:OPT) to Neutral

HC Wainwright downgraded shares of Opthea (NASDAQ:OPT) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $2.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $12.00. HC Wainwright also issued estimates for Opthea’s FY2025 earnings at ($1.44) EPS, FY2026 earnings at ($0.96) EPS, FY2027 earnings at ($0.56) EPS, FY2028 earnings at ($0.24) EPS and FY2029 earnings at $0.24 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on OPT. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $1.00 price target (down previously from $8.00) on shares of Opthea in a research report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Opthea to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Oppenheimer lowered Opthea from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Opthea from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $12.00 to $1.00 in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1.33.

Opthea Stock Up 7.2 %

Shares of Opthea stock opened at $3.41 on Tuesday. Opthea has a 52-week low of $1.79 and a 52-week high of $6.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $4.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.06.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Opthea

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Opthea during the fourth quarter worth about $556,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Opthea during the 3rd quarter worth $114,000. Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Opthea in the fourth quarter valued at about $79,000. Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Opthea in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Finally, OLD Mission Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Opthea during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. 55.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.