OPKO Health (NASDAQ:OPK) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

OPKO Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPK) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday. The stock had previously closed at $1.37, but opened at $1.65. OPKO Health shares last traded at $1.6750, with a volume of 30,122,967 shares changing hands.

Key Headlines Impacting OPKO Health

Here are the key news stories impacting OPKO Health this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Labcorp deal provides substantial cash proceeds: Labcorp agreed to acquire select assets of OPKO’s BioReference Health business for $722 million in cash, with a potential earnout of up to $150 million, bringing the possible total value to $872 million. The assets include specialty testing focused on women’s health and the 4Kscore prostate-cancer risk test. Labcorp Enters into Agreement with OPKO Health to Acquire Select Assets of BioReference Health
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic shift toward biopharmaceuticals: The divestiture is expected to give OPKO greater financial flexibility and allow management to concentrate on its biopharmaceutical operations. The agreement may also expand patient and provider access to the 4Kscore Test through Labcorp’s nationwide laboratory network. OPKO Health to Sell Select BioReference Assets to Labcorp for $722M
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade adds momentum: Barrington Research raised OPKO from “Market Perform” to “Outperform” and assigned a $2.25 price target, implying substantial upside from the stock’s recent trading level. Barrington Upgrades OPKO Health to Outperform
• Neutral Sentiment: Shares reached a 52-week high of $1.75: The milestone reflects strong investor interest following the asset-sale announcement, although the stock remains below the new analyst target and could experience volatility after the sharp move.
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and business-mix risks remain: OPKO is selling part of its diagnostics platform, which could reduce ongoing BioReference revenue and earnings contribution. The additional $150 million earnout is contingent, and the transaction must close as planned before OPKO realizes the full expected benefit.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on OPK shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of OPKO Health in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Barrington Research upgraded OPKO Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $2.25 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of OPKO Health in a research note on Friday. Zacks Research raised OPKO Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, UBS Group set a $4.00 price target on OPKO Health in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, OPKO Health has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $2.96.

OPKO Health Trading Down 5.0%

The company has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.00 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a quick ratio of 2.93, a current ratio of 3.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.37.

OPKO Health (NASDAQ:OPK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $163.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $131.23 million. OPKO Health had a negative net margin of 12.40% and a negative return on equity of 5.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.19) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that OPKO Health, Inc. will post -0.23 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OPKO Health

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of OPKO Health in the 2nd quarter valued at about $62,000. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in OPKO Health by 91.2% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 107,989 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $162,000 after buying an additional 51,509 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new position in OPKO Health during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in OPKO Health by 174.0% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,645 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $658,000 after buying an additional 278,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in OPKO Health during the second quarter worth approximately $1,194,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.63% of the company’s stock.

OPKO Health Company Profile

OPKO Health, Inc is a healthcare company focused on diagnostics and pharmaceuticals. Through its diagnostics businesses, the company provides laboratory services and specialized tests intended to support the detection, diagnosis and management of disease. Its operations include BioReference Health, a clinical laboratory business serving physicians, hospitals, employers and patients, as well as the 4Kscore test, which helps assess the risk of aggressive prostate cancer.

OPKO’s pharmaceutical business develops and commercializes treatments for conditions including kidney disease, endocrine disorders and growth-related conditions.