Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Eleven of 13 brokerages rate Ocular Therapeutix a “buy,” with an average 12-month price target of $25.75. Recent targets include $30 from Robert W. Baird and $25 from HC Wainwright.
• The company’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with an adjusted loss of $0.35 per share versus the $0.40 consensus estimate and revenue of $13.47 million. Analysts expect a full-year loss of approximately $1.47 per share.
• Institutional ownership is substantial: Institutions hold 59.21% of the stock, with BlackRock initiating a position valued at roughly $190.3 million. Shares opened at $10.19, within a 12-month range of $6.23 to $16.44.

Shares of Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment 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 covered the stock in the last year is $25.75.

OCUL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Ocular Therapeutix from $24.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ocular Therapeutix from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Friday, July 17th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued 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 reissued a "buy" rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Tuesday, August 4th.

Ocular Therapeutix Price Performance

Shares of OCUL opened at $10.19 on Wednesday. Ocular Therapeutix has a twelve month low of $6.23 and a twelve month high of $16.44. The company has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.18 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $9.90 and a 200 day moving average of $9.36. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $13.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.20 million. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative return on equity of 59.89% and a negative net margin of 579.10%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.39) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ocular Therapeutix will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Pravin Dugel sold 21,649 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.77, for a total transaction of $233,159.73. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,525,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,198,870.33. This represents a 0.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 Ocular Therapeutix stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.78, for a total value of $35,530.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 318,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,431,554.28. The trade was a 1.02% decrease in their position. 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 quarter, insiders sold 29,877 shares of company stock valued at $321,827. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ocular Therapeutix

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Ocular Therapeutix during the second quarter valued at $190,278,000. Commodore Capital LP purchased a new stake in Ocular Therapeutix in the first quarter worth about $21,810,000. Readystate Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Ocular Therapeutix in the first quarter worth about $7,484,000. Defilade Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 118.2% in the first quarter. Defilade Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,487,645 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $12,600,000 after buying an additional 805,982 shares during the period. Finally, Spruce Street Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the fourth quarter worth about $9,518,000. 59.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Ocular Therapeutix

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 technology to design sustained-release treatments intended to deliver medication to ocular tissues over extended periods and potentially reduce the need for frequent eye drops or injections.

Its commercial product, Dextenza, is a resorbable intracanalicular insert that delivers dexamethasone to the ocular surface for the treatment of inflammation and pain following ophthalmic surgery.

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