Ocular Therapeutix's (OCUL) "Buy" Rating Reaffirmed at Chardan Capital

Key Points

• Ocular Therapeutix's stock was reaffirmed with a "buy" rating by Chardan Capital, along with a price target of $21.00, indicating a potential upside of 90.22% from its previous close.
• The company recently reported earnings per share of ($0.39), falling short of estimates, while revenues were down 17.7% year-over-year.
• Insider trading activity showed key individuals selling shares at an average price of $12.04, indicating a decrease in their ownership in the company.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Chardan Capital in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $21.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Chardan Capital's target price suggests a potential upside of 90.22% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on OCUL. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $20.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ocular Therapeutix currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.33.

Ocular Therapeutix Trading Down 5.6%

NASDAQ:OCUL opened at $11.04 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $12.33 and its 200 day moving average is $9.67. The company has a current ratio of 10.10, a quick ratio of 10.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Ocular Therapeutix has a 12 month low of $5.78 and a 12 month high of $13.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a PE ratio of -8.63 and a beta of 1.45.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.39) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.35) by ($0.04). Ocular Therapeutix had a negative net margin of 382.51% and a negative return on equity of 71.92%. The business had revenue of $13.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.12 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.26) EPS. The company's revenue was down 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Ocular Therapeutix will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Pravin Dugel sold 21,494 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.04, for a total value of $258,787.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,227,244 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,856,017.76. The trade was a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter Kaiser sold 3,011 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.04, for a total transaction of $36,252.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 204,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,457,279.72. This trade represents a 1.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,519 shares of company stock worth $367,865. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ocular Therapeutix

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ocular Therapeutix by 62.9% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,392 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Ocular Therapeutix by 151.5% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 5,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 3,155 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Ocular Therapeutix by 17.0% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,154 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 893 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in Ocular Therapeutix by 16.1% during the second quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 7,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Ocular Therapeutix by 6,760.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,232 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 8,112 shares during the period. 59.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ocular Therapeutix Company Profile

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the formulation, development, and commercialization of therapies for diseases and conditions of the eye using its bioresorbable hydrogel-based formulation technology in the United States. The company markets DEXTENZA, a dexamethasone ophthalmic insert to treat post-surgical ocular inflammation and pain following ophthalmic surgery, as well as allergic conjunctivitis.

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