HC Wainwright Reiterates "Buy" Rating for Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL)

Key Points

• HC Wainwright reiterated a Buy rating on Ocular Therapeutix with a $21.00 price target, implying roughly a 139% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst coverage is mixed but leaning positive—12 Buys, 1 Hold and 1 Sell—with a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" and an average target of $23.78.
• The stock trades near $8.79 (market cap ≈ $1.91B); the company reported Q4 EPS of ($0.29) that beat estimates despite revenue falling 22.4%, and insiders have sold about 197,221 shares in the past 90 days.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by equities research analysts at HC Wainwright in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $21.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. HC Wainwright's price target would suggest a potential upside of 139.04% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on OCUL. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ocular Therapeutix from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ocular Therapeutix currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.78.

Ocular Therapeutix Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:OCUL traded down $0.01 on Monday, reaching $8.79. 1,237,892 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,992,216. The company has a quick ratio of 15.32, a current ratio of 15.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.11 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a fifty day moving average of $8.79 and a 200-day moving average of $10.80. Ocular Therapeutix has a 52-week low of $6.23 and a 52-week high of $16.44.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.33) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $13.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.13 million. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative net margin of 511.90% and a negative return on equity of 70.68%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.29) earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Ocular Therapeutix will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ocular Therapeutix

In related news, insider Pravin Dugel sold 124,882 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.04, for a total value of $1,128,933.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,033,078 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,419,025.12. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nadia Waheed sold 7,863 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.04, for a total value of $71,081.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 318,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,878,489.68. This trade represents a 2.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 197,221 shares of company stock valued at $1,754,805. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ocular Therapeutix

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OCUL. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in 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. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Ocular Therapeutix in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ocular Therapeutix in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Ocular Therapeutix in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, KBC Group NV acquired a new position in Ocular Therapeutix in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $78,000. 59.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ocular Therapeutix Company Profile

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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