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

Equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) in a report issued on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 96.08% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. JMP Securities set a $19.00 target price on Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.29.

Ocular Therapeutix Stock Performance

Shares of Ocular Therapeutix stock opened at $7.65 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 12.94, a current ratio of 13.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Ocular Therapeutix has a 52 week low of $4.06 and a 52 week high of $11.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.80 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $7.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.85.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.29) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by ($0.05). Ocular Therapeutix had a negative return on equity of 45.18% and a negative net margin of 283.74%. The company had revenue of $17.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.89 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Ocular Therapeutix will post -0.98 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Pravin Dugel sold 21,475 shares of Ocular Therapeutix stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.87, for a total value of $147,533.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,520,318 shares in the company, valued at $24,184,584.66. This trade represents a 0.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Donald Notman sold 11,119 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.81, for a total transaction of $86,839.39. Following the sale, the insider now owns 193,444 shares in the company, valued at $1,510,797.64. The trade was a 5.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,895 shares of company stock valued at $283,772. 3.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in Ocular Therapeutix in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in Ocular Therapeutix in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 2,045.0% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,859 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 8,446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.21% of the company’s stock.

About Ocular Therapeutix

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the formulation, development, and commercialization of therapies for diseases and conditions of the eye using its bioresorbable hydrogel-based formulation technology in the United States. The company markets DEXTENZA, a dexamethasone ophthalmic insert to treat post-surgical ocular inflammation and pain following ophthalmic surgery, as well as allergic conjunctivitis.