Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) Earns Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $18.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price indicates a potential upside of 85.38% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ocular Therapeutix from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Chardan Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Monday, April 13th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.78.

Ocular Therapeutix Stock Performance

Shares of Ocular Therapeutix stock opened at $9.71 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.65 and a beta of 0.93. Ocular Therapeutix has a 12 month low of $6.23 and a 12 month high of $16.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 15.39 and a quick ratio of 15.32.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last issued its quarterly 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. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative net margin of 558.24% and a negative return on equity of 71.22%. The firm had revenue of $13.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.13 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.29) EPS. Ocular Therapeutix’s quarterly revenue was down 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ocular Therapeutix will post -1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Nadia Waheed sold 7,863 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.04, for a total value of $71,081.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 318,417 shares in the company, valued at $2,878,489.68. This trade represents a 2.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Pravin Dugel sold 124,882 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.04, for a total value of $1,128,933.28. Following the transaction, 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 185,731 shares of company stock valued at $1,653,407 over the last ninety days. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ocular Therapeutix

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in OCUL. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 574.4% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 673,348 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,871,000 after purchasing an additional 573,504 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,163,240 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $107,118,000 after purchasing an additional 771,065 shares during the last quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. purchased a new stake in Ocular Therapeutix in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,360,000. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ocular Therapeutix by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,250,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $119,822,000 after buying an additional 2,850,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB acquired a new stake in Ocular Therapeutix during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,361,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.21% 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.