Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) Price Target Lowered to $18.00 at Needham & Company LLC

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) had its price target lowered by Needham & Company LLC from $20.00 to $18.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on OCUL. Chardan Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ocular Therapeutix from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.78.

Ocular Therapeutix Trading Up 10.7%

Shares of OCUL stock opened at $7.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 15.32 and a current ratio of 15.39. The company has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.40 and a beta of 0.90. Ocular Therapeutix has a 52-week low of $5.78 and a 52-week high of $16.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.68.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.33) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $13.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.13 million. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative return on equity of 70.68% and a negative net margin of 511.90%.The company’s revenue was down 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.29) EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ocular Therapeutix will post -0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ocular Therapeutix

In other news, COO Donald Notman sold 11,446 shares of Ocular Therapeutix stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.04, for a total value of $103,471.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 366,356 shares in the company, valued at $3,311,858.24. This trade represents a 3.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Pravin Dugel sold 124,882 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.04, for a total transaction of $1,128,933.28. Following the sale, the insider owned 3,033,078 shares in the company, valued at $27,419,025.12. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 166,029 shares of company stock worth $1,498,430 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ocular Therapeutix

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Ocular Therapeutix by 124.2% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,242 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ocular Therapeutix by 62.9% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,392 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, KBC Group NV bought a new position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $78,000. 59.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.