Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) Trading Up 17.4% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) rose 17.4% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $10.44 and last traded at $10.4990. Approximately 6,289,744 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 10% from the average daily volume of 6,980,615 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OCUL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Monday. Finally, Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ocular Therapeutix has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.78.

Ocular Therapeutix Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $10.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.67 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 15.32 and a current ratio of 15.39.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.29) EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $16.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.29) earnings per share. Ocular Therapeutix’s revenue was down 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. will post -0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard L. Md Lindstrom bought 60,229 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $7.66 per share, for a total transaction of $461,354.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 246,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,891,506.78. This trade represents a 32.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey S. Heier sold 3,057 shares of Ocular Therapeutix stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.28, for a total value of $25,311.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 323,368 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,677,487.04. The trade was a 0.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 197,221 shares of company stock worth $1,754,805. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ocular Therapeutix

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 574.4% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 673,348 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,871,000 after purchasing an additional 573,504 shares during the period. Pale Fire Capital SE raised its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 20.7% in the second quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 530,135 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,920,000 after buying an additional 90,748 shares in the last quarter. Saturn V Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Ocular Therapeutix by 21.8% during the second quarter. Saturn V Capital Management LP now owns 728,576 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,761,000 after buying an additional 130,385 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Ocular Therapeutix during the 2nd quarter valued at $342,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 33.6% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 296,546 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,752,000 after acquiring an additional 74,542 shares during the period. 59.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.