Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) Insider Sells $35,530.88 in Stock

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) insider Jeffrey Heier sold 3,296 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.78, for a total transaction of $35,530.88. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 318,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,431,554.28. The trade was a 1.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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.

Ocular Therapeutix Stock Down 4.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:OCUL opened at $10.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.30 and a beta of 0.93. Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. has a 12-month low of $6.23 and a 12-month high of $16.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.17. The company has a quick ratio of 13.03, a current ratio of 13.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $13.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.39) earnings per share. Ocular Therapeutix’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on OCUL. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Ocular Therapeutix from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Ocular Therapeutix from $24.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ocular Therapeutix from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ocular Therapeutix currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OCUL. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 30.4% during the first quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,520 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 1.8% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 72,618 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $674,000 after buying an additional 1,314 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 21.2% during the second quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 13,413 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 2,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors 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.