Chardan Capital Reaffirms Buy Rating for Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL)

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities researchers at Chardan Capital in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $23.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Chardan Capital’s price target points to a potential upside of 230.46% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on OCUL. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ocular Therapeutix from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $24.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ocular Therapeutix from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ocular Therapeutix has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.29.

Ocular Therapeutix Stock Down 4.5%

Shares of NASDAQ OCUL traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $6.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,948,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,992,486. The company has a current ratio of 13.10, a quick ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Ocular Therapeutix has a fifty-two week low of $6.23 and a fifty-two week high of $16.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.90 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.30.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $13.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.20 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.39) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Ocular Therapeutix will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Pravin Dugel sold 21,649 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.77, for a total transaction of $233,159.73. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,525,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,198,870.33. This represents a 0.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 Peter Kaiser sold 3,035 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.77, for a total transaction of $32,686.95. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 264,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,847,351.06. This represents a 1.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,877 shares of company stock valued at $321,827. 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. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Ocular Therapeutix during the second quarter worth about $190,278,000. Summer Road LLC raised its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 6.9% during the first quarter. Summer Road LLC now owns 11,879,825 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $100,622,000 after acquiring an additional 771,270 shares in the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,777,777 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $130,842,000 after acquiring an additional 527,777 shares in the last quarter. Octagon Capital Advisors LP raised its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 20.7% during the first quarter. Octagon Capital Advisors LP now owns 3,166,600 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,821,000 after acquiring an additional 543,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commodore Capital LP acquired a new position in Ocular Therapeutix during the first quarter worth about $21,810,000. 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.