Man Group plc Takes Position in Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. $OCUL

Man Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 543,582 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,338,000. Man Group plc owned 0.25% of Ocular Therapeutix at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the first quarter valued at about $5,491,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 145.9% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 227,808 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,930,000 after acquiring an additional 135,160 shares during the period. Empire Life Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 115.0% in the 4th quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. now owns 540,115 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,557,000 after acquiring an additional 288,853 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 949,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,040,000 after acquiring an additional 107,614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Octagon Capital Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 20.7% during the 1st quarter. Octagon Capital Advisors LP now owns 3,166,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,821,000 after purchasing an additional 543,000 shares during the period. 59.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ocular Therapeutix Stock Performance

NASDAQ OCUL opened at $10.36 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 13.03 and a current ratio of 13.10. The firm has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.30 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.16. Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. has a one year low of $6.23 and a one year high of $16.44.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $13.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.39) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. will post -1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on OCUL shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Ocular Therapeutix from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Eleven equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jeffrey S. Heier sold 3,296 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.78, for a total value of $35,530.88. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 318,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,431,554.28. This trade represents a 1.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 Ocular Therapeutix 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 owned 264,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,847,351.06. This trade represents a 1.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 29,877 shares of company stock worth $321,827 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

About Ocular Therapeutix

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.