Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) Shares Up 9.3% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Shares jumped 9.3% intraday to about $8.09 (high $8.14) on roughly 2.0 million shares traded, which was about 68% below the stock's average daily volume.
• Analyst coverage is mixed but leans positive—12 Buys, 1 Hold and 1 Sell—resulting in a MarketBeat average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $23.78.
• Fundamentals remain challenged: Q4 EPS of ($0.29) beat estimates by $0.04 but revenue fell 22.4% year‑over‑year and the company is unprofitable (negative margins); analysts forecast ~-0.98 EPS for the year, while insiders showed mixed activity (a director bought 60,229 shares and other insiders sold).

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL - Get Free Report) rose 9.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $8.14 and last traded at $8.0850. Approximately 2,003,994 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 6,250,368 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on OCUL. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ocular Therapeutix from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Thursday, February 5th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.78.

Ocular Therapeutix Trading Up 12.4%

The firm has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.77 and a beta of 0.91. The company's 50 day moving average is $9.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 15.39 and a quick ratio of 15.32.

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, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.33) by $0.04. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative return on equity of 70.68% and a negative net margin of 511.90%.The firm had revenue of $13.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.29) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ocular Therapeutix news, Director Richard L. Md Lindstrom acquired 60,229 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $7.66 per share, for a total transaction of $461,354.14. Following the purchase, the director owned 246,933 shares in the company, valued at $1,891,506.78. This represents a 32.26% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Donald Notman sold 11,446 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.04, for a total transaction of $103,471.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 366,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,311,858.24. The trade was a 3.03% 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 insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 124.2% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,242 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Ocular Therapeutix in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ocular Therapeutix in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. 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 position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the fourth quarter valued at $78,000. Institutional investors own 59.21% 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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