Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. $OCUL

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) by 9.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,163,240 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 771,065 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Ocular Therapeutix worth $107,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ocular Therapeutix by 62.9% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392 shares during the last quarter. Marex Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the 2nd quarter worth about $115,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 13,413 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 2,343 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the 3rd quarter valued at about $126,000. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the 3rd quarter worth about $132,000. 59.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ocular Therapeutix Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OCUL opened at $11.04 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 15.32, a current ratio of 15.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $5.80 and a fifty-two week high of $16.44. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $10.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.53. The firm has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a PE ratio of -7.67 and a beta of 0.91.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.29) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.33) by $0.04. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative return on equity of 70.68% and a negative net margin of 511.90%.The company had revenue of $13.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.13 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.29) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Sanjay Nayak sold 10,348 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.04, for a total value of $93,545.92. Following the sale, the insider owned 332,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,005,004.48. This represents a 3.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Pravin Dugel sold 124,882 shares of Ocular Therapeutix stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.04, for a total value of $1,128,933.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,033,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,419,025.12. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 197,221 shares of company stock worth $1,754,805 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on OCUL shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ocular Therapeutix from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. HC Wainwright increased their price target on Ocular Therapeutix from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.78.

About Ocular Therapeutix

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of innovative therapies for diseases and conditions of the eye. Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts, the company focuses on sustained-release drug delivery platforms designed to address key unmet needs in ophthalmology. Its proprietary hydrogel-based inserts and sealants aim to improve patient compliance and outcomes by providing controlled release of active pharmaceutical ingredients directly to ocular tissues.

The company’s flagship product, DEXTENZA®, is a preservative-free, sustained-release dexamethasone intracanalicular insert approved by the U.S.