Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) Insider Peter Kaiser Sells 2,810 Shares

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) insider Peter Kaiser sold 2,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.28, for a total value of $23,266.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 269,108 shares in the company, valued at $2,228,214.24. The trade was a 1.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Ocular Therapeutix Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of OCUL traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $9.23. 4,539,561 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,989,396. The company has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.41 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 15.39, a quick ratio of 15.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. has a 52 week low of $5.78 and a 52 week high of $16.44. The company’s 50 day moving average is $10.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.61.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.33) by $0.04. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative return on equity of 70.68% and a negative net margin of 511.90%.The firm had revenue of $13.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.29) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Chardan Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ocular Therapeutix from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.78.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 124.2% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,242 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,392 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Ocular Therapeutix in the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Ocular Therapeutix during the 4th quarter worth approximately $78,000. 59.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Ocular Therapeutix

Here are the key news stories impacting Ocular Therapeutix this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Director Richard L. Lindstrom made a sizable purchase of 60,229 shares at ~$7.66, increasing his stake ~32% — a strong signal of insider confidence and direct demand support. SEC Filing – Lindstrom Form 4
• Positive Sentiment: Ocular will present detailed SOL?1 data at the Macula Society meeting and host investor events — favorable readouts or management commentary could be a major upside catalyst. SOL?1 Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Market positioning: equities analysts remain largely bullish (consensus “Moderate Buy” with a wide target range), so upcoming earnings/updates could swing sentiment either way. MarketBeat Summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Smaller insider sale by Nadia Waheed (3,510 shares at ~$7.74) — modest disposition relative to holdings and unlikely alone to alter long?term conviction. SEC Filing – Waheed Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Clustered executive selling on Feb 23 — several insiders (S. Nayak, J. Heier, P. Kaiser and notably Pravin Dugel selling 20,056 shares) sold at ~ $8.28, increasing available float and weighing on near?term sentiment. SEC Filing – Dugel Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest rose ~27.8% in February to ~14.7M shares (~6.9% of float), elevating bearish pressure and the potential for heightened volatility around catalysts.
• Negative Sentiment: Needham trimmed its price target to $18 (from $20), a downside revision that could temper enthusiasm despite other buy ratings. Needham Price Target Cut

Ocular Therapeutix Company Profile

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.