Insider Selling: Opus Genetics (NASDAQ:IRD) President Sells $117,489.06 in Stock

Opus Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:IRD) President Benjamin Yerxa sold 33,189 shares of Opus Genetics stock in a transaction on Friday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.54, for a total value of $117,489.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 670,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,375,046.18. The trade was a 4.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Opus Genetics Trading Up 4.2%

Shares of Opus Genetics stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $3.46. The company had a trading volume of 1,303,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,430,392. The company has a market capitalization of $285.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.56 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.11. Opus Genetics, Inc. has a 1-year low of $1.70 and a 1-year high of $7.07.

Opus Genetics (NASDAQ:IRD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $0.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Opus Genetics, Inc. will post -0.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Opus Genetics

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Opus Genetics during the 2nd quarter valued at $12,809,000. Nantahala Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Opus Genetics in the 2nd quarter valued at $12,582,185. Trails Edge Capital Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Opus Genetics in the 2nd quarter worth $11,276,434. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Opus Genetics by 4,522.5% in the 1st quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 1,849,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,809,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opaleye Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Opus Genetics by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 1,125,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,624,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.97% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on IRD shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Opus Genetics in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Zacks Research upgraded Opus Genetics from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Opus Genetics from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Opus Genetics from $10.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Opus Genetics in a research report on Friday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $12.71.

About Opus Genetics

Opus Genetics, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing gene therapies for inherited retinal diseases (IRDs), a group of rare genetic disorders that can cause progressive vision loss and blindness. The company’s research is aimed at addressing the underlying genetic causes of these conditions rather than treating only their symptoms.

Its pipeline includes investigational ophthalmic gene therapies designed for specific IRD-causing mutations, including programs targeting conditions associated with the NR2E3 and BEST1 genes.