Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on OCUL. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Friday, July 17th. Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $24.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.75.

Ocular Therapeutix Price Performance

Shares of OCUL opened at $10.10 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 13.10, a quick ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $9.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.06. Ocular Therapeutix has a twelve month low of $6.23 and a twelve month high of $16.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a PE ratio of -7.11 and a beta of 0.93.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $13.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.20 million. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative return on equity of 59.89% and a negative net margin of 579.10%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.39) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ocular Therapeutix will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Pravin Dugel sold 21,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.20, for a total value of $173,479.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,597,170 shares in the company, valued at $21,296,794. This trade represents a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 28,999 shares of company stock valued at $237,792 over the last quarter. 3.10% 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 business. Algert Global LLC grew its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 592,309 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,816,000 after acquiring an additional 53,370 shares during the last quarter. PEAK6 LLC acquired a new position in Ocular Therapeutix during the second quarter worth about $262,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Ocular Therapeutix during the second quarter worth about $343,000. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the second quarter valued at about $117,000. Finally, XY Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the second quarter valued at about $367,000. 59.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.