Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Fourteen brokers give Ocular Therapeutix a consensus rating of Moderate Buy (12 buys, 1 hold, 1 sell) with an average 12‑month price target of $23.78.
• Company insiders have sold a total of 197,221 shares worth about $1.75 million in the last 90 days, leaving insiders with roughly 2.30% ownership.
• In the most recent quarter OCUL reported EPS of -$0.29 (beating estimates by $0.04) while revenue fell 22.4% to $13.25 million and the company posted a negative net margin and return on equity.

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.7778.

OCUL has been the subject of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Chardan Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ocular Therapeutix from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ocular Therapeutix

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 574.4% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 673,348 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $7,871,000 after acquiring an additional 573,504 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,163,240 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $107,118,000 after purchasing an additional 771,065 shares during the last quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. purchased a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,360,000. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,250,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $119,822,000 after purchasing an additional 2,850,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,361,000. 59.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ocular Therapeutix Price Performance

Shares of OCUL opened at $9.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.82 and a beta of 0.95. Ocular Therapeutix has a twelve month low of $6.23 and a twelve month high of $16.44. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $8.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.69.

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

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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