Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $23.7778.

A number of research firms have recently commented on OCUL. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ocular Therapeutix from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 20th.

Ocular Therapeutix Stock Performance

OCUL stock opened at $7.55 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.08. The company has a quick ratio of 15.32, a current ratio of 15.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Ocular Therapeutix has a 52-week low of $5.80 and a 52-week high of $16.44. The firm has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.24 and a beta of 0.91.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.33) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $13.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.13 million. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative return on equity of 70.68% and a negative net margin of 511.90%.Ocular Therapeutix’s revenue for the quarter was down 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.29) EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ocular Therapeutix will post -0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ocular Therapeutix news, insider Pravin Dugel sold 20,056 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.28, for a total transaction of $166,063.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,013,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,947,822.16. The trade was a 0.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffrey S. Heier sold 3,057 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.28, for a total value of $25,311.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 323,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,677,487.04. The trade was a 0.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 197,221 shares of company stock worth $1,754,805 in the last quarter. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 124.2% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,242 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 1.8% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 72,618 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $674,000 after buying an additional 1,314 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in Ocular Therapeutix by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 8,950 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,750 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ocular Therapeutix by 9.9% during the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 25,178 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 2,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 13,413 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 2,343 shares in the last quarter. 59.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ocular Therapeutix Company Profile

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.