Legal & General Group Plc Takes $1.16 Million Position in Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. $OCUL

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 117,915 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $1,158,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.05% of Ocular Therapeutix as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OCUL. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 30.4% during the first quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,520 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 124.2% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,242 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Ocular Therapeutix by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 72,618 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,314 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its position in Ocular Therapeutix by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 13,413 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $124,000 after purchasing an additional 2,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Ocular Therapeutix during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 59.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on OCUL shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird raised 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. 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. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $25.00 target price (up from $21.00) on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ocular Therapeutix from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ocular Therapeutix presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $25.75.

Ocular Therapeutix Stock Performance

NASDAQ OCUL opened at $10.64 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.49 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 13.10 and a quick ratio of 13.03. The stock's 50-day moving average is $9.77 and its 200-day moving average is $9.25. Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. has a one year low of $6.23 and a one year high of $16.44.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL - Get Free Report) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.20 million. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative return on equity of 59.89% and a negative net margin of 579.10%.Ocular Therapeutix's quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.39) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ocular Therapeutix

In related news, insider Peter Kaiser sold 3,035 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.77, for a total transaction of $32,686.95. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 264,378 shares in the company, valued at $2,847,351.06. This trade represents a 1.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 Jeffrey Heier sold 3,296 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.78, for a total transaction of $35,530.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 318,326 shares in the company, valued at $3,431,554.28. This represents a 1.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 29,877 shares of company stock valued at $321,827 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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