Defilade Capital Management L.P. Purchases 805,982 Shares of Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. $OCUL

Key Points

• Defilade Capital Management more than doubled its Ocular Therapeutix stake in the first quarter, purchasing 805,982 shares and ending with 1.49 million shares worth approximately $12.6 million. Institutional investors own 59.21% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive: 12 analysts rate the stock a Buy and two rate it a Sell, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $25.11.
• OCUL opened at $8.17, well below its 12-month high of $16.44; the stock has a $1.79 billion market capitalization and trades below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages near $9.18.

Defilade Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL - Free Report) by 118.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,487,645 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 805,982 shares during the quarter. Ocular Therapeutix comprises approximately 1.8% of Defilade Capital Management L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Defilade Capital Management L.P. owned 0.68% of Ocular Therapeutix worth $12,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of OCUL. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 124.2% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,242 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 30.4% in the 1st quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,520 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,053 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Ocular Therapeutix during the fourth quarter worth $61,000. Finally, KBC Group NV bought a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the 4th quarter worth about $78,000. 59.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Friday, July 17th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ocular Therapeutix from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Chardan Capital increased their price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective 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. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $25.11.

Ocular Therapeutix Price Performance

NASDAQ:OCUL opened at $8.17 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 14.73, a current ratio of 14.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. has a 12-month low of $6.23 and a 12-month high of $16.44. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $9.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.60 and a beta of 0.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ocular Therapeutix news, insider Pravin Dugel sold 21,156 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.20, for a total transaction of $173,479.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,597,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,296,794. This trade represents a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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. Insiders sold a total of 28,999 shares of company stock valued at $237,792 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

About Ocular Therapeutix

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development of innovative therapies for diseases and conditions of the eye. Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts, the company focuses on sustained-release drug delivery platforms designed to address key unmet needs in ophthalmology. Its proprietary hydrogel-based inserts and sealants aim to improve patient compliance and outcomes by providing controlled release of active pharmaceutical ingredients directly to ocular tissues.

The company's flagship product, DEXTENZA®, is a preservative-free, sustained-release dexamethasone intracanalicular insert approved by the U.S.

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