Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday,Zacks reports.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on OCUL. Zacks Research raised Ocular Therapeutix from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Ocular Therapeutix from $24.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.86.

Ocular Therapeutix Stock Performance

Shares of OCUL stock opened at $7.24 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 13.03, a current ratio of 13.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $9.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.25. Ocular Therapeutix has a 52 week low of $6.23 and a 52 week high of $16.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a PE ratio of -5.10 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. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative net margin of 579.10% and a negative return on equity of 59.89%. The company had revenue of $13.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.39) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ocular Therapeutix will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ocular Therapeutix

In other Ocular Therapeutix news, insider Pravin Dugel sold 21,649 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $27,198,870.33. This trade represents a 0.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 140,484 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,024,128.36. This represents a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders sold a total of 62,720 shares of company stock valued at $556,247 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ocular Therapeutix

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $401,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Ocular Therapeutix in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 16,725 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 2,979 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 435,156 shares during the period. Finally, Second Line Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Ocular Therapeutix by 20.9% during the second quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 638,640 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,271,000 after purchasing an additional 110,350 shares in 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.