Short Interest in Opthea Limited (NASDAQ:OPT) Expands By 20.7%

Opthea Limited (NASDAQ:OPT) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of 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. Based on an average trading volume of 31,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 16.5 days. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Opthea Stock Performance

NASDAQ:OPT remained flat at $3.41 during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $4.38 and a 200 day moving average of $4.08. Opthea has a 1 year low of $1.79 and a 1 year high of $6.30.

Institutional Trading of Opthea

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new position in shares of Opthea during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. OLD Mission Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Opthea during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Opthea during the third quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Citadel Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Opthea during the fourth quarter worth $79,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Opthea during the third quarter valued at $114,000. 55.95% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on OPT. Leerink Partners cut shares of Opthea from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $12.00 to $1.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Opthea from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. HC Wainwright downgraded Opthea from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $12.00 to $2.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $1.00 price objective (down previously from $8.00) on shares of Opthea in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs downgraded Opthea from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1.33.

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.