5 Investors Betting Big on Otonomy (OTIC) Stock

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  • Otonomy (OTIC) focuses on developing treatments in the neurotology field.
  • Shares of Otonomy have recently flown higher on no company-specific news.
  • OTIC stock is still down more than 85% year-to-date (YTD).
a scientist with protective equipment and microscope in a lab, OBSV stock
Source: luchschenF / Shutterstock.com

Shares of Otonomy (NASDAQ:OTIC) stock are in the spotlight again today. Although it’s in the red today, OTIC stock sports a five-day gain of more than 100%. Otonomy operates as a biopharmaceutical company that develops treatments for hearing-related issues like tinnitus. The company currently has five programs in its pipeline, two of which are in Phase 2 trials.

No company-specific news can explain the incline in price for OTIC stock lately, leaving many investors confused. However, a major factor of the price appreciation may be a promotion from financial Twitter influencer Zack Morris.

In the past, Morris has helped prop up the prices of many low market capitalization stocks by issuing tweets to his 552,000 followers. His pinned tweet currently includes the phrase “I LOVE PUMPING!!!.” OTIC stock has a market cap of less than $20 million, making prices highly susceptible to volatile movements.

Other investors believe a short squeeze is responsible, although that doesn’t seem likely. As of Nov. 15, there were a total of 817,400 shares sold short with a value of $106,262. That’s equivalent to a short interest as a percentage of float of just 1.47%, which doesn’t seem high enough to drive a significant squeeze. However, the caveat here is that this data is only accurate as of mid November.

5 Investors Betting Big on OTIC Stock

Tracking institutional ownership is important, as these large investors provide liquidity and support for stocks. During the third quarter, only 39 13F filers reported owning OTIC stock, a decline of 11 filers from the previous quarter. Six filers reported a new position in the stock, while 17 filers completely sold out. Meanwhile, WhaleWisdom reports that the institutional put/call ratio is 0.00, down from 0.06 during Q2. That’s equivalent to 97,200 calls and zero puts.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the top shareholders of Otonomy. Please note that this list only includes investors who filed a Q3 position update. For example, CEO David Weber owns 3 million shares, but that figure is only accurate as of Q1 2022.

  1. Point72 Asset Management: 5.49 million shares. Point72 purchased its entire stake during Q3.
  2. Baker Bros Advisors: 3.44 million shares. Baker Bros sold 4.99 million shares during Q3.
  3. Suvretta Capital Management: 3.14 million shares. Suvretta’s position remained unchanged during Q3.
  4. Vanguard: 2.43 million shares. Vanguard’s position remained unchanged during Q3.
  5. Lynx1 Capital Management: 2.31 million shares. Lynx1 purchased 2.28 million shares during Q3.

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On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2022/11/5-investors-betting-big-on-otonomy-otic-stock/.

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