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

Shares of Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.5556.

Several brokerages have commented on OCUL. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $17.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Ocular Therapeutix from $20.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Monday, December 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jeffrey S. Heier sold 10,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.04, for a total value of $115,942.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 249,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,753,475.36. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd Anderman sold 11,132 shares of Ocular Therapeutix stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.34, for a total transaction of $137,368.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 87,568 shares in the company, valued at $1,080,589.12. The trade was a 11.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 31,287 shares of company stock valued at $359,784 in the last quarter. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ocular Therapeutix

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Ocular Therapeutix during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,035,000. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the 1st quarter worth approximately $213,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 151.5% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 5,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 3,155 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 346,098 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,537,000 after buying an additional 6,348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 8.1% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 19,573 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 1,472 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.21% of the company’s stock.

Ocular Therapeutix Stock Performance

OCUL stock opened at $12.56 on Monday. Ocular Therapeutix has a 1-year low of $5.78 and a 1-year high of $16.44. The company has a current ratio of 7.85, a quick ratio of 7.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a PE ratio of -8.72 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $12.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.55.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.37) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by $0.02. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative return on equity of 86.33% and a negative net margin of 447.57%.The company had revenue of $14.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ocular Therapeutix will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

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.