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Open Orphan Plc
(LSE:HVO)
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Rating:53Neutral
Price Target:
7.00 p
▼(-1.41% Downside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:04/24/26
The score is held back primarily by the latest financial deterioration (losses, negative gross profit, and significant cash flow weakness). Offsetting this are moderately positive technical momentum signals and earnings-call indications of improving demand/pipeline, though liquidity and booking visibility remain key near-term risks.
Positive Factors
Proprietary human challenge models (influenza, commercial hMPV)
Owning unique, commercial HCT models creates a durable competitive moat in the specialized human challenge niche. These proprietary models attract repeat biopharma and government customers, support premium pricing and faster enrollment, and underpin sustainable differentiated revenue streams over coming quarters.
Negative Factors
Material cash depletion in 2025
A ~67% fall in cash materially shortens the company’s runway and increases reliance on external funding or asset sales. Over the next several months this raises dilution and refinancing risk, constrains discretionary investment, and limits flexibility to absorb further operational shocks.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Proprietary human challenge models (influenza, commercial hMPV)
Owning unique, commercial HCT models creates a durable competitive moat in the specialized human challenge niche. These proprietary models attract repeat biopharma and government customers, support premium pricing and faster enrollment, and underpin sustainable differentiated revenue streams over coming quarters.
Read all positive factors
Open Orphan Plc (HVO) vs. iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF (EWC)
Market Cap
£46.12M
Dividend Yield2.99%
Average Volume (3M)7.17M
Price to Earnings (P/E)―
Beta (1Y)0.83
Revenue Growth-25.43%
EPS Growth-155.41%
CountryUK
Employees376
SectorHealthcare
Sector Strength45
IndustryBiotechnology
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)>-0.01
Shares Outstanding688,401,060
10 Day Avg. Volume16,921,125
30 Day Avg. Volume7,174,585
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio0.05
Price to Book (P/B)1.13
Price to Sales (P/S)0.92
P/FCF Ratio-2.92
Enterprise Value/Market CapN/A
Enterprise Value/RevenueN/A
Enterprise Value/Gross ProfitN/A
Enterprise Value/EbitdaN/A
Forecast
1Y Price Target
£10.00Price Target Upside40.85% Upside
Rating ConsensusModerate Buy
Number of Analyst Covering2
EPS Forecast (FY)>-0.01
Revenue Forecast (FY)£50.38M
Open Orphan Plc Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
hVIVO plc (HVO) operates as a premier full-service Contract Research Organisation (CRO) focused on early-phase clinical development, globally recognized as the leader in human challenge trials. The company provides a complete spectrum of clinical ...
How the Company Makes Money
Open Orphan primarily makes money by providing outsourced clinical research services to third parties. Its core revenue stream is contracted fees for designing and delivering human challenge trials (controlled studies in which volunteers are expos...
Open Orphan Plc Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Apr 15, 2026
(Q4-2025)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Sep 15, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Neutral
The call balanced notable strategic and operational progress (diversification, acquisitions integrated, expanded lab and clinical capabilities, unique HCT models, renewed contracts and pipeline growth) against material financial headwinds in 2025 (significant cash depletion, order book reduction, cancellations, and margin pressure from non-HCT work). Management delivered a small profit, reiterated confidence in near-term pipeline (Traws Pharma) and longer-term pivot (ILiAD Phase III, guidance for high single-digit growth in 2026), but the company faces near-term liquidity and booking visibility challenges as it executes the diversification strategy.Positive Updates
Full-year Revenue and Profitability
Reported revenue of GBP 46.8m for FY2025 and an operating profit of GBP 1.4m despite headwinds and net acquisition losses of GBP 1.4m, demonstrating underlying profitability in a challenging year.
Negative Updates
Significant Cash Reduction
Cash balance fell from GBP 44.2m at start of year to GBP 14.3m at period end, a decline of approximately -67.6%, driven by acquisitions, working capital and lower HCT bookings.
Read all updates
Q4-2025 Updates
Positive
Negative
Full-year Revenue and Profitability
Reported revenue of GBP 46.8m for FY2025 and an operating profit of GBP 1.4m despite headwinds and net acquisition losses of GBP 1.4m, demonstrating underlying profitability in a challenging year.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Guidance from the call highlighted that after a challenging FY2025 (revenue £46.8m; profit £1.4m despite net acquisition losses of £1.4m), the company finished the year with £14.3m cash (down from £44.2m) after using ~£29m of cash (core £15.4m, inorganic £14.5m), generating £10.4m from operations and spending £1.4m on PPE; the order book was restated to £30m (from £43.5m) under a stricter CTA-based recognition policy (SUA→CTA lag 5–12 months). Management expects HCT’s share of revenue to fall from >85% in 2024 to under 50% in 2025 (i.e., >50% non-HCT going forward), sees a 50% increase in new proposals in Q1 2026 YoY, has signed the Traws Pharma HCT (up to 150 subjects, majority of revenue in 2026) and is near-finalizing a multiyear ILiAD Phase III whooping cough HCT (majority revenue in 2027), and forecasts high single‑digit revenue growth in 2026; other metrics cited include ongoing Phase I wins typically £0.6–1.0m each, Cryostore revenue £0.8m, German clinical trials £12.3m, variable cost rates roughly 15% for HCT and 25–30% for clinical trials, ~200 beds, and a 350,000-strong volunteer database.Open Orphan Plc Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
48
Neutral
Balance Sheet
64
Positive
Cash Flow
41
Neutral
| Breakdown | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | |||||
| Total Revenue | 46.77M | 62.73M | 56.04M | 48.48M | 36.86M |
| Gross Profit | -6.12M | 62.73M | 10.41M | 4.00M | 35.90M |
| EBITDA | 4.31M | 17.80M | 14.02M | 2.70M | 3.07M |
| Net Income | -5.99M | 10.65M | 16.11M | -776.00K | -74.00K |
Balance Sheet | |||||
| Total Assets | 71.81M | 88.89M | 83.23M | 51.38M | 42.27M |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 14.30M | 44.18M | 36.97M | 28.44M | 15.69M |
| Total Debt | 14.79M | 12.90M | 12.53M | 1.56M | 3.15M |
| Total Liabilities | 33.66M | 44.22M | 48.90M | 31.16M | 21.59M |
| Stockholders Equity | 38.16M | 44.67M | 34.33M | 20.22M | 20.68M |
Cash Flow | |||||
| Free Cash Flow | -14.80M | 7.88M | 12.06M | 14.62M | -2.30M |
| Operating Cash Flow | -13.40M | 10.34M | 17.24M | 15.98M | -1.56M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -11.90M | -660.00K | -5.18M | -1.36M | -739.00K |
| Financing Cash Flow | -4.56M | -2.40M | -4.70M | -1.83M | -1.20M |
Open Orphan Plc Technical Analysis
Negative
7.10
Price Trends
7.65
Negative
7.70
Negative
7.12
Negative
Market Momentum
-0.27
Negative
32.13
Neutral
24.12
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For GB:HVO, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 7.1 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 7.01, below the 50-day MA of 7.65, and below the 200-day MA of 7.12, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -0.27 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 32.13 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 24.12 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for GB:HVO.
Open Orphan Plc Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (51)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
61 Neutral | £18.61M | -4.34 | -15.57% | ― | 13.04% | 15.88% | |
53 Neutral | £46.12M | -7.61 | -14.65% | 2.94% | -25.43% | -155.41% | |
51 Neutral | $7.86B | -0.30 | -43.30% | 2.27% | 22.53% | -2.21% | |
50 Neutral | £327.88M | -7.52 | -2929.47% | ― | ― | ― | |
44 Neutral | £12.89M | -7.15 | -210.32% | ― | -11.43% | 23.40% | |
42 Neutral | £5.36M | -0.31 | -316.67% | ― | 33.37% | 86.41% | |
40 Underperform | £16.41M | -7.92 | -213.66% | ― | 13.42% | 65.63% |
* Healthcare Sector Average
GB:HVO
Open Orphan Plc
6.70
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-33.00%
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Open Orphan Plc Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyRegulatory Filings and Compliance
hVIVO appoints Grant Thornton as new auditor after tender
Positive
Jul 13, 2026
hVIVO plc has appointed Grant Thornton UK LLP as its new auditor following a competitive tender process, replacing Gravita Audit II Ltd with effect for the financial year ending 31 December 2026. The company plans to seek shareholder approval to r...
Business Operations and Strategy
hVIVO wins Decoy Therapeutics consultancy mandate for next-generation respiratory antivirals
Positive
Jun 1, 2026
hVIVO plc has signed a consultancy contract with biotech firm Decoy Therapeutics to support the development of Decoy’s Designable Multi-Antiviral respiratory candidates, which aim to target shared mechanisms across multiple viruses with a si...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
hVIVO grants performance-linked share options to senior leadership under 2024 LTIP
Positive
May 29, 2026
hVIVO plc has granted 10,159,068 options under its 2024 Long Term Incentive Plan to senior management, including Chief Executive Officer Yamin ‘Mo’ Khan and Chief Financial Officer Stephen Pinkerton. The awards, issued as options over ...
Business Operations and Strategy
hVIVO Showcases Integrated Early-Stage Drug Development Platform at Capital Markets Day
Positive
May 20, 2026
hVIVO plc will host a Capital Markets Day in London on 11 June 2026 to showcase its transition from a specialist human challenge trial provider to an integrated, full-service early clinical development platform. The event targets analysts, institu...
Business Operations and StrategyShareholder Meetings
hVIVO Shareholders Back All Resolutions at Annual General Meeting
Positive
May 13, 2026
hVIVO plc, a global leader in human challenge trials, provides full-service international clinical development support to many of the world’s largest biopharma companies. Its integrated platform covers early preclinical strategy, first-in-hu...
Business Operations and StrategyFinancial Disclosures
hVIVO wins £6m influenza human challenge trial to test monoclonal antibody
Positive
May 7, 2026
hVIVO plc, a specialist clinical development partner and global leader in human challenge trials, focuses on accelerating vaccine and therapeutic development for major biopharma clients through integrated consulting, clinical, challenge trial, and...
Executive/Board ChangesRegulatory Filings and ComplianceShareholder Meetings
hVIVO Director Brendan Buckley Sells Shares Ahead of Board Exit
Negative
Apr 24, 2026
hVIVO plc has disclosed that non-executive director Brendan Buckley sold 2,017,000 ordinary shares in the company at 8.65p per share, reducing his holding to 2,000,270 shares. Buckley has also informed the company that he does not intend to stand ...
Business Operations and StrategyFinancial Disclosures
hVIVO Wins Landmark Phase III Human Challenge Contract for ILiAD’s Whooping Cough Vaccine
Positive
Apr 22, 2026
hVIVO has signed a contract with ILiAD Biotechnologies to run the world’s first pivotal Phase III human challenge trial of a whooping cough vaccine, testing ILiAD’s intranasal candidate BPZE1 against the current Tdap standard. The stud...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.