Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) Hits New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as low as $6.16 and last traded at $6.3820, with a volume of 852,663 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.87.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on OCUL. Zacks Research raised shares of Ocular Therapeutix from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ocular Therapeutix from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Sunday, October 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ocular Therapeutix has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.86.

Ocular Therapeutix Trading Down 5.8%

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.24. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of -4.57 and a beta of 1.00.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $13.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.20 million. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative net margin of 579.10% and a negative return on equity of 59.89%. The firm’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.39) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ocular Therapeutix

In related news, insider Pravin Dugel sold 21,649 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.77, for a total value of $233,159.73. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,525,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,198,870.33. This trade represents a 0.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 9,990 shares of Ocular Therapeutix stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.05, for a total value of $70,429.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 254,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,435.40. The trade was a 3.78% 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 have sold 62,720 shares of company stock worth $556,247 in the last ninety days. 3.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ocular Therapeutix

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the second quarter worth approximately $190,278,000. Summer Road LLC lifted its holdings in Ocular Therapeutix by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Summer Road LLC now owns 11,879,825 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $100,622,000 after purchasing an additional 771,270 shares in the last quarter. Octagon Capital Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Ocular Therapeutix by 20.7% in the 1st quarter. Octagon Capital Advisors LP now owns 3,166,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,821,000 after purchasing an additional 543,000 shares in the last quarter. Commodore Capital LP purchased a new position in Ocular Therapeutix in the 1st quarter valued at $21,810,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 44.4% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 1,415,913 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,904,000 after purchasing an additional 435,156 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.