Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Ocular Therapeutix Call Options (NASDAQ:OCUL)

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders purchased 3,355 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 48% compared to the typical volume of 2,273 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on OCUL. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $24.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ocular Therapeutix from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.75.

Ocular Therapeutix Price Performance

Ocular Therapeutix stock opened at $7.87 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 13.10 and a quick ratio of 13.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.32. Ocular Therapeutix has a 12 month low of $6.23 and a 12 month high of $16.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of -5.54 and a beta of 0.97.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jeffrey Heier sold 3,296 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.78, for a total transaction of $35,530.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 318,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,431,554.28. The trade was a 1.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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. Also, insider Peter Kaiser sold 3,035 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.77, for a total value of $32,686.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 264,378 shares in the company, valued at $2,847,351.06. This trade represents a 1.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 29,877 shares of company stock worth $321,827. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ocular Therapeutix

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Ocular Therapeutix during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 30.4% in the first quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,520 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,053 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the second quarter valued at $51,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 420.0% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 6,412 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 5,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the 1st quarter worth about $98,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.21% of the company’s stock.

About Ocular Therapeutix

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for diseases and conditions affecting the eye. The company uses its proprietary hydrogel-based technology to design sustained-release treatments intended to deliver medication to ocular tissues over extended periods and potentially reduce the need for frequent eye drops or injections.

Its commercial product, Dextenza, is a resorbable intracanalicular insert that delivers dexamethasone to the ocular surface for the treatment of inflammation and pain following ophthalmic surgery.