Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) Stock Lifted to “Strong-Buy” by UBS Group

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) was upgraded by research analysts at UBS Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Sunday, Zacks reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on OCUL. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Ocular Therapeutix from $24.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. 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 target on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.86.

Ocular Therapeutix Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OCUL opened at $7.24 on Friday. Ocular Therapeutix has a twelve month low of $6.23 and a twelve month high of $16.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 13.10 and a quick ratio of 13.03. The company’s fifty day moving average is $9.66 and its 200-day moving average is $9.25.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $13.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.20 million. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative return on equity of 59.89% and a negative net margin of 579.10%. Ocular Therapeutix’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.39) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ocular Therapeutix will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Todd Anderman sold 11,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.29, for a total value of $87,363.36. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 140,484 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,024,128.36. This represents a 7.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 Pravin Dugel sold 21,649 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.77, for a total value of $233,159.73. Following the sale, the insider owned 2,525,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,198,870.33. The trade was a 0.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 have sold a total of 62,720 shares of company stock worth $556,247 in the last 90 days. 3.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 30.4% in the first quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,520 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,053 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 24.1% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,623 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 2,642 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 16,725 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $164,000 after buying an additional 2,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA boosted its stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 13.6% in the first quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 25,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $212,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.21% of the company’s stock.

Ocular Therapeutix Company Profile

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for diseases and conditions affecting the eye. The company uses its proprietary hydrogel-based formulation and delivery technologies to create sustained-release treatments intended to improve drug delivery, reduce dosing frequency and address unmet needs in ophthalmology.

Its commercial product is DEXTENZA, a corticosteroid ophthalmic insert that is placed in the canaliculus by a healthcare professional.