Opus Genetics (NASDAQ:IRD) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

Opus Genetics (NASDAQ:IRD) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

IRD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Opus Genetics in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 price objective on shares of Opus Genetics in a research report on Monday, July 6th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $8.00 target price on shares of Opus Genetics in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Opus Genetics in a research report on Monday, March 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $10.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Opus Genetics in a research note on Monday, March 30th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $15.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.77.

Opus Genetics Stock Down 6.6%

IRD stock opened at $3.56 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $4.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.95. The company has a market cap of $293.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.68 and a beta of 0.55. Opus Genetics has a 12-month low of $1.04 and a 12-month high of $5.81.

Opus Genetics (NASDAQ:IRD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 12th. The company reported ($0.75) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.59). Opus Genetics had a negative return on equity of 338.88% and a negative net margin of 892.36%.The company had revenue of $2.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that Opus Genetics will post -1.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Opus Genetics

In other news, CEO George Magrath sold 9,511 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.22, for a total transaction of $49,647.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,741,344 shares in the company, valued at $9,089,815.68. The trade was a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Robert E. Gagnon sold 7,842 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.18, for a total transaction of $40,621.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 592,158 shares in the company, valued at $3,067,378.44. This trade represents a 1.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 1,738,703 shares of company stock worth $7,596,606 in the last quarter. 11.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new stake in shares of Opus Genetics in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Comerica Bank bought a new position in Opus Genetics during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Opus Genetics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Opus Genetics by 95.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 22,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in Opus Genetics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 14.97% of the company’s stock.

About Opus Genetics

Opus Genetics Inc is a clinical-stage ophthalmic biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing and commercializing therapies for the treatment of unmet needs of patients with refractive and retinal eye disorders. Opus Genetics Inc, formerly known as Ocuphire Pharma Inc, is based in Farmington Hills, Michigan.