Ocular Therapeutix Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:OCUL)

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 3,324 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 15% compared to the average daily volume of 2,900 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OCUL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Monday, December 8th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $20.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Chardan Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ocular Therapeutix presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.56.

Ocular Therapeutix Stock Performance

NASDAQ OCUL traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $11.24. The company had a trading volume of 15,834,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,767,324. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.97. Ocular Therapeutix has a fifty-two week low of $5.78 and a fifty-two week high of $16.44. The company has a quick ratio of 7.78, a current ratio of 7.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.87 and a beta of 0.93.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $14.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 million. Equities analysts forecast that Ocular Therapeutix will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ocular Therapeutix by 62.9% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,392 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 893 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 7,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the 3rd quarter valued at about $80,000. Finally, Marex Group plc bought a new stake in Ocular Therapeutix in the second quarter valued at about $115,000. 59.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.