Ocular Therapeutix Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:OCUL)

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors acquired 9,884 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 301% compared to the average daily volume of 2,463 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ocular Therapeutix news, insider Pravin Dugel sold 21,156 shares of Ocular Therapeutix stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.20, for a total transaction of $173,479.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 2,597,170 shares in the company, valued at $21,296,794. The trade was a 0.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,999 shares of company stock worth $237,792. 3.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ocular Therapeutix

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Summer Road LLC grew its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Summer Road LLC now owns 11,879,825 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $100,622,000 after buying an additional 771,270 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,575,193 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $140,523,000 after buying an additional 2,411,953 shares during the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,777,777 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $130,842,000 after buying an additional 527,777 shares during the last quarter. TCG Crossover Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 15.0% during the third quarter. TCG Crossover Management LLC now owns 6,117,232 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $71,510,000 after acquiring an additional 798,084 shares during the period. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 4,625,050 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $56,148,000 after acquiring an additional 620,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 59.21% of the company’s stock.

Ocular Therapeutix Stock Performance

OCUL stock traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $9.74. The company had a trading volume of 1,062,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,615,834. The company has a quick ratio of 14.73, a current ratio of 14.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $9.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.61. Ocular Therapeutix has a fifty-two week low of $6.23 and a fifty-two week high of $16.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of -6.67 and a beta of 0.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on OCUL. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $24.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Chardan Capital upped their price target on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Twelve 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.11.

Ocular Therapeutix Company Profile

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.