Bank of America Corp DE Acquires New Shares in Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. $OCUL

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 519,231 shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the second quarter, worth approximately $5.1 million and representing a 0.24% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 59.21% of the company.
• Ocular Therapeutix reported a quarterly loss of $0.35 per share, better than the expected $0.40 loss, while revenue of $13.47 million slightly exceeded estimates. The company remains unprofitable, with a negative net margin of 579.10%.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: 11 analysts rate the stock a Buy, with an average price target of $25.75 versus a recent share price of $7.66. Recent targets range from $23 to $30, though one analyst maintains a Sell rating.

Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 519,231 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $5,099,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.24% of Ocular Therapeutix as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of OCUL. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the 2nd quarter valued at about $190,278,000. Summer Road LLC lifted its position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 6.9% in the first quarter. Summer Road LLC now owns 11,879,825 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $100,622,000 after buying an additional 771,270 shares during the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ocular Therapeutix by 5.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 527,777 shares during the last quarter. Octagon Capital Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 20.7% during the 1st quarter. Octagon Capital Advisors LP now owns 3,166,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,821,000 after buying an additional 543,000 shares during the period. Finally, Commodore Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the first quarter worth approximately $21,810,000. 59.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ocular Therapeutix Price Performance

Shares of OCUL opened at $7.66 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 13.03 and a current ratio of 13.10. Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. has a 52-week low of $6.23 and a 52-week high of $16.44. The business's 50 day moving average price is $9.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.33. The firm has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a PE ratio of -5.39 and a beta of 0.97.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $13.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.39) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. will post -1.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ocular Therapeutix news, insider Peter Kaiser sold 3,035 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.77, for a total value of $32,686.95. Following the transaction, the insider owned 264,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,847,351.06. This represents a 1.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 Pravin Dugel sold 21,649 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $27,198,870.33. The trade was a 0.85% 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 valued at $321,827. 3.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on OCUL shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $24.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Chardan Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Ocular Therapeutix from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ocular Therapeutix presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $25.75.

Ocular Therapeutix 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 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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