Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $25.75.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price target (up from $21.00) on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Chardan Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Tuesday, August 4th.

Ocular Therapeutix Trading Down 4.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:OCUL opened at $10.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.30 and a beta of 0.93. Ocular Therapeutix has a 12 month low of $6.23 and a 12 month high of $16.44. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.17. The company has a quick ratio of 13.03, a current ratio of 13.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by $0.05. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative net margin of 579.10% and a negative return on equity of 59.89%. The firm had revenue of $13.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.39) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ocular Therapeutix will post -1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ocular Therapeutix

In other news, insider Pravin Dugel sold 21,649 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.77, for a total value of $233,159.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,525,429 shares in the company, valued at $27,198,870.33. This trade represents a 0.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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. Also, insider Jeffrey S. Heier sold 3,296 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.78, for a total value of $35,530.88. Following the sale, the insider owned 318,326 shares in the company, valued at $3,431,554.28. The trade was a 1.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 three months, insiders have sold 29,877 shares of company stock worth $321,827. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in OCUL. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $190,278,000. Summer Road LLC increased its holdings in Ocular Therapeutix by 6.9% during the first 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. increased its holdings in Ocular Therapeutix by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,575,193 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $140,523,000 after buying an additional 2,411,953 shares during the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ocular Therapeutix by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,777,777 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $130,842,000 after buying an additional 527,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCG Crossover Management LLC raised its position in 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 worth $71,510,000 after acquiring an additional 798,084 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.21% of the company’s stock.

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.