Chardan Capital Reaffirms Buy Rating for Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL)

Key Points

• Chardan Capital reaffirmed a Buy rating on Ocular Therapeutix with a $23 price target, implying 215.5% upside from the previous close. The analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with an average target of $25.29.
• Ocular Therapeutix shares opened at $7.29, down 5%, while the company reported quarterly EPS of negative $0.35, beating estimates, and revenue of $13.48 million, slightly above expectations.
• Institutional ownership stands at 59.21%, with BlackRock initiating a roughly $190.3 million position and other major funds increasing their stakes. Recent insider sales were made under pre-arranged plans to cover tax obligations tied to vested equity awards.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Chardan Capital in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $23.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Chardan Capital's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 215.50% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on OCUL. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised Ocular Therapeutix from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $24.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ocular Therapeutix has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $25.29.

Ocular Therapeutix Trading Down 5.0%

Shares of NASDAQ OCUL opened at $7.29 on Friday. Ocular Therapeutix has a 1-year low of $6.23 and a 1-year high of $16.44. The company has a 50-day moving average of $9.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.30. The company has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of -5.13 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 13.10, a quick ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $13.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.20 million. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative net margin of 579.10% and a negative return on equity of 59.89%. Ocular Therapeutix's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.39) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ocular Therapeutix will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Pravin Dugel sold 21,649 shares of the business'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 sale, the insider directly owned 2,525,429 shares in the company, valued at $27,198,870.33. The trade was a 0.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 318,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,431,554.28. This represents a 1.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 29,877 shares of company stock valued at $321,827. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ocular Therapeutix

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in OCUL. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the second quarter worth $190,278,000. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 5.1% in the 4th 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. Summer Road LLC lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Octagon Capital Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 20.7% in the 1st quarter. Octagon Capital Advisors LP now owns 3,166,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $26,821,000 after acquiring an additional 543,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commodore Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the first quarter valued at about $21,810,000. 59.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ocular Therapeutix Company Profile

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for diseases and conditions affecting the eye. The company uses its proprietary hydrogel-based formulation and delivery technologies to create sustained-release treatments intended to improve drug delivery, reduce dosing frequency and address unmet needs in ophthalmology.

Its commercial product is DEXTENZA, a corticosteroid ophthalmic insert that is placed in the canaliculus by a healthcare professional.