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

Shares of Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat 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 target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $25.1111.

OCUL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price target (up from $21.00) on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Chardan Capital upped their price target on Ocular Therapeutix from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st.

Ocular Therapeutix Stock Up 6.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:OCUL opened at $10.33 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 14.81, a quick ratio of 14.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.08 and a beta of 0.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $9.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.56. Ocular Therapeutix has a 12-month low of $6.23 and a 12-month high of $16.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Pravin Dugel sold 21,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.20, for a total value of $173,479.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,597,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,296,794. This trade represents a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 have sold a total of 28,999 shares of company stock valued at $237,792 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ocular Therapeutix

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Ocular Therapeutix by 5.8% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 93,619 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 5,156 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the first quarter worth about $248,000. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 21.5% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 21,410 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $199,000 after buying an additional 3,791 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 110.8% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 712,100 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,608,000 after buying an additional 374,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 57.9% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 18,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 6,855 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.21% of the company’s stock.

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.