Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) Given Buy Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $18.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 182.80% from the company’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. UBS Group began coverage on Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Sunday, October 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Ocular Therapeutix from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ocular Therapeutix has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.86.

Ocular Therapeutix Stock Down 7.4%

OCUL stock traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $6.37. The stock had a trading volume of 5,105,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,967,224. The firm has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.48 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $9.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.24. Ocular Therapeutix has a 52-week low of $6.00 and a 52-week high of $16.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 13.10 and a quick ratio of 13.03.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by $0.05. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative return on equity of 59.89% and a negative net margin of 579.10%. The firm had revenue of $13.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.39) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ocular Therapeutix will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Pravin Dugel sold 21,649 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.77, for a total transaction of $233,159.73. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 2,525,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,198,870.33. This represents a 0.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 Todd Anderman sold 11,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.29, for a total value of $87,363.36. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 140,484 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,024,128.36. The trade was a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 sold a total of 62,720 shares of company stock worth $556,247 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ocular Therapeutix

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in OCUL. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 30.4% during the 1st quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,520 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the second quarter valued at about $51,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the 1st quarter valued at $98,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the second quarter valued at $112,000. 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 formulation and delivery technologies to create sustained-release treatments intended to improve drug delivery, reduce dosing frequency and address unmet needs in ophthalmology.

Its commercial product is DEXTENZA, a corticosteroid ophthalmic insert that is placed in the canaliculus by a healthcare professional.