Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL)

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $20.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 23.93% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $21.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ocular Therapeutix from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. JMP Securities raised their target price on Ocular Therapeutix from $20.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Ocular Therapeutix from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.56.

Ocular Therapeutix Stock Performance

Shares of OCUL stock traded up $3.56 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $16.14. 9,877,213 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,145,056. Ocular Therapeutix has a 52 week low of $5.78 and a 52 week high of $16.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.14 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $11.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 7.78 and a current ratio of 7.85.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 447.57% and a negative return on equity of 86.33%. The firm had revenue of $14.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ocular Therapeutix will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Todd Anderman sold 11,132 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.34, for a total value of $137,368.88. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Peter Kaiser sold 9,653 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.03, for a total value of $106,472.59. Following the sale, the insider owned 194,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,144,673.20. The trade was a 4.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 31,287 shares of company stock valued at $359,784 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ocular Therapeutix

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in OCUL. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 151.5% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 5,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 3,155 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,154 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 7,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Ocular Therapeutix in the third quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.21% of the company’s stock.

About Ocular Therapeutix

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.