Short Interest in Oculis Holding AG (NASDAQ:OCS) Declines By 21.5%

Key Points

• Short interest declined 21.5% in March to 490,094 shares (about 0.8% of the stock) with a short-interest ratio of 0.9 days based on average volume.
• Oculis reported Q results showing EPS of ($0.51), missing the ($0.43) estimate, though revenue of $0.5M topped expectations; the company remains unprofitable with negative ROE and net margins.
• Analysts are largely positive (seven Buys vs one Sell) with a consensus price target of $43.86, and institutional investors have recently added/new positions, leaving institutions with about 22.3% ownership.

Oculis Holding AG (NASDAQ:OCS - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 490,094 shares, a decrease of 21.5% from the February 26th total of 623,971 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 521,482 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days. Currently, 0.8% of the company's stock are sold short.

Oculis Stock Down 1.2%

OCS opened at $24.69 on Friday. Oculis has a 12 month low of $14.00 and a 12 month high of $30.68. The company has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a PE ratio of -10.88 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a current ratio of 5.96, a quick ratio of 5.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.43 and a 200 day moving average of $22.51.

Oculis (NASDAQ:OCS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported ($0.51) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by ($0.08). Oculis had a negative return on equity of 62.12% and a negative net margin of 8,173.41%.The company had revenue of $0.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.14 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Oculis will post -2.09 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Syquant Capital Sas purchased a new position in shares of Oculis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,849,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Oculis by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 36,061 shares of the company's stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 6,625 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Oculis in the fourth quarter worth $499,000. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Oculis during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $312,000. Finally, NEXTBio Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Oculis in the fourth quarter worth $2,991,000. 22.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on OCS. Lifesci Capital started coverage on Oculis in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Oculis from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Oculis in a research report on Friday, December 19th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Oculis in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Oculis from $40.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oculis has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.86.

About Oculis

Oculis SA NASDAQ: OCS is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel ophthalmic therapies designed primarily to treat retinal and neuro-ophthalmic diseases. Leveraging its proprietary technology platforms, Oculis aims to deliver therapeutic agents to the back of the eye through topical or nasal administration, potentially offering an alternative to current intravitreal injections. The company’s pipeline includes OCS-01, a topical dexamethasone formulation targeting diabetic macular edema; OCS-05, a neuroprotective candidate for acute optic neuritis and idiopathic intracranial hypertension; and OC-02, a nasal spray formulation of varenicline for dry eye disease.

Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Oculis operates research and development facilities across Europe and in the United States, with a presence in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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