Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) Stock Now Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts rate Ocular Therapeutix a “Moderate Buy” overall: Eight of 11 covering brokerages rate the stock Buy, one Strong Buy, one Hold, and one Sell. The average 12-month price target is $23.33.
• The stock opened at $7.14, within its 12-month range of $6.00–$16.44. In its latest reported quarter, the company beat EPS and revenue estimates, though revenue was down 0.1% year over year.
• Insiders sold 62,720 shares worth about $556,000 over 90 days; the reported sales were under pre-arranged plans to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards.

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.33.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Thursday, October 15th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Zacks Research raised shares of Ocular Therapeutix from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Chardan Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Tuesday, September 29th.

Ocular Therapeutix Trading Up 4.7%

NASDAQ:OCUL opened at $7.14 on Thursday. Ocular Therapeutix has a twelve month low of $6.00 and a twelve month high of $16.44. The company has a quick ratio of 13.03, a current ratio of 13.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $8.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.07. The company has a market cap of $1.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.03 and a beta of 1.22.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Peter Kaiser sold 9,990 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.05, for a total transaction of $70,429.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 254,388 shares in the company, valued at $1,793,435.40. This represents a 3.78% decrease in their position. The sale 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 Todd Anderman sold 11,984 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.29, for a total transaction of $87,363.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 140,484 shares in the company, valued at $1,024,128.36. This represents a 7.86% 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 90 days, insiders sold 62,720 shares of company stock worth $556,247. Insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ocular Therapeutix

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the 3rd quarter valued at about $233,000. Kraematon Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Kraematon Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 117,517 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $901,000 after acquiring an additional 7,550 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 8.1% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 20,992 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 1,575 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the third quarter worth about $86,000. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 316.0% during the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 138,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,059,000 after purchasing an additional 104,927 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.21% of the company's stock.

About Ocular Therapeutix

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc NASDAQ: OCUL is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for diseases and conditions affecting the eye. The company uses its proprietary hydrogel-based drug-delivery technology to provide sustained or controlled release of medicines in ophthalmic applications.

Its commercial products include Dextenza, a dexamethasone ophthalmic insert used to treat ocular inflammation and itching following ophthalmic surgery, and Yutiq, a fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant indicated for the treatment of chronic noninfectious posterior uveitis.

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