Lazard Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in OPKO Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPK)

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in OPKO Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPK) by 143.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,548,667 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,502,342 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in OPKO Health were worth $3,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of OPKO Health by 48.3% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 309,867 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 100,868 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of OPKO Health by 94.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 581,582 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $855,000 after purchasing an additional 282,844 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of OPKO Health by 105.6% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 43,167 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 22,167 shares during the period. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in shares of OPKO Health by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 106,369 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 16,369 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of OPKO Health by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,697,774 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,436,000 after purchasing an additional 164,847 shares during the period. 64.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

OPKO Health Stock Performance

Shares of OPKO Health stock opened at $1.33 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1.51 and a 200 day moving average of $1.56. OPKO Health, Inc. has a 12 month low of $1.19 and a 12 month high of $2.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.00 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.97 and a quick ratio of 2.69.

OPKO Health (NASDAQ:OPK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by ($0.03). OPKO Health had a negative net margin of 18.65% and a negative return on equity of 9.76%. The firm had revenue of $149.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $163.13 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.12) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that OPKO Health, Inc. will post -0.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on OPKO Health in a report on Friday, April 25th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $3.00 price target on shares of OPKO Health in a report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com cut OPKO Health from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $2.25 target price on shares of OPKO Health in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.75.

Insider Activity at OPKO Health

In related news, CEO Phillip Md Et Al Frost purchased 125,000 shares of OPKO Health stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $1.36 per share, with a total value of $170,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 214,001,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $291,041,969.28. This trade represents a 0.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders bought 767,434 shares of company stock worth $1,238,312 in the last three months. 49.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About OPKO Health

OPKO Health, Inc, a healthcare company, engages in the diagnostics and pharmaceuticals businesses in the United States, Ireland, Chile, Spain, Israel, Mexico, and internationally. The company's Diagnostics segment operates BioReference Laboratories that offers laboratory testing services for the detection, diagnosis, evaluation, monitoring, and treatment of diseases, including esoteric testing, molecular diagnostics, anatomical pathology, genetics, women's health, and correctional healthcare to physician offices, clinics, hospitals, employers, and governmental units; and 4Kscore prostate cancer test.