Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. $OCUL Shares Acquired by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

Key Points

• Institutional ownership increased: The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its Ocular Therapeutix stake by 145.9% to 227,808 shares. Overall, hedge funds and institutional investors own 59.21% of OCUL.
• Quarterly results modestly beat expectations: Ocular Therapeutix reported a loss of $0.35 per share versus the $0.40 consensus loss estimate, while revenue of $13.47 million slightly exceeded forecasts. Analysts expect a full-year loss of $1.50 per share.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive: Eleven analysts rate the stock Buy and two rate it Sell, resulting in a “Moderate Buy” consensus and a $25.75 average price target versus the recent $9.19 share price.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL - Free Report) by 145.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 227,808 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 135,160 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.10% of Ocular Therapeutix worth $1,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 3,136.1% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,855,706 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $45,073,000 after buying an additional 3,736,560 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 2,003.2% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,424,439 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $40,032,000 after acquiring an additional 3,261,619 shares in the last quarter. Commodore Capital LP acquired a new stake in Ocular Therapeutix during the 1st quarter worth $21,810,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Ocular Therapeutix by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,575,193 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $140,523,000 after acquiring an additional 2,411,953 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Ocular Therapeutix by 106.5% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,229,202 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $51,321,000 after acquiring an additional 2,180,702 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.21% of the company's stock.

Ocular Therapeutix Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OCUL opened at $9.19 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $9.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.10. Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. has a 1-year low of $6.23 and a 1-year high of $16.44. 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 company has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of -6.47 and a beta of 0.93.

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, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.05. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative net margin of 579.10% and a negative return on equity of 59.89%. The company had revenue of $13.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.39) EPS. Ocular Therapeutix's revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. will post -1.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Pravin Dugel sold 21,156 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.20, for a total transaction of $173,479.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,597,170 shares in the company, valued at $21,296,794. The trade was a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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. Insiders have sold 28,999 shares of company stock worth $237,792 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on OCUL. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $25.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Zacks Research cut Ocular Therapeutix from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Ocular Therapeutix from $24.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $25.75.

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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