BNP Paribas Financial Markets Raises Stock Position in Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL - Free Report) by 110.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 39,599 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Ocular Therapeutix were worth $644,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,483,913 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $72,453,000 after purchasing an additional 99,730 shares during the period. Deltec Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ocular Therapeutix by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Deltec Asset Management LLC now owns 2,616,373 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $22,344,000 after buying an additional 16,300 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in Ocular Therapeutix by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,334,702 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $11,398,000 after buying an additional 278,610 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Ocular Therapeutix by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,314,871 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $11,229,000 after buying an additional 68,174 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ocular Therapeutix by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,131,485 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $9,663,000 after buying an additional 21,025 shares in the last quarter. 59.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard L. Md Lindstrom acquired 10,000 shares of Ocular Therapeutix stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $6.96 per share, for a total transaction of $69,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 172,704 shares in the company, valued at $1,202,019.84. This represents a 6.15% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on OCUL. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Ocular Therapeutix from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $17.00 target price for the company. William Blair initiated coverage on Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, JMP Securities set a $19.00 price target on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $16.25.

Ocular Therapeutix Price Performance

Shares of OCUL traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $6.94. 1,561,525 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,399,909. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $7.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.98. Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. has a 12-month low of $4.79 and a 12-month high of $11.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 12.94 and a current ratio of 13.01. The company has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.26 and a beta of 1.51.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $17.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.89 million. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative return on equity of 45.18% and a negative net margin of 283.74%. Research analysts expect that Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

About Ocular Therapeutix

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the formulation, development, and commercialization of therapies for diseases and conditions of the eye using its bioresorbable hydrogel-based formulation technology in the United States. The company markets DEXTENZA, a dexamethasone ophthalmic insert to treat post-surgical ocular inflammation and pain following ophthalmic surgery, as well as allergic conjunctivitis.