Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Monday. The company traded as low as $6.16 and last traded at $6.3820, with a volume of 852,663 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.87.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on OCUL. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Ocular Therapeutix from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Sunday, October 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.86.

Ocular Therapeutix Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of -4.68 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 13.10, a quick ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company’s 50 day moving average is $9.43 and its 200-day moving average is $9.21.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $13.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.39) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ocular Therapeutix news, insider Jeffrey S. Heier sold 10,869 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.05, for a total value of $76,626.45. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 307,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,167,571.85. This trade represents a 3.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 Todd Anderman sold 11,984 shares of Ocular Therapeutix stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.29, for a total transaction of $87,363.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 140,484 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,024,128.36. This represents a 7.86% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 62,720 shares of company stock valued at $556,247. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ocular Therapeutix

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OCUL. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in Ocular Therapeutix during the second quarter valued at approximately $401,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Ocular Therapeutix in the second quarter worth approximately $51,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 21.7% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 16,725 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 2,979 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 44.4% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 1,415,913 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,904,000 after buying an additional 435,156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Second Line Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 638,640 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,271,000 after acquiring an additional 110,350 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 59.21% of the company’s stock.

About Ocular Therapeutix

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc (NASDAQ:OCUL) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing therapies for diseases and conditions affecting the eye. The company uses its proprietary hydrogel-based drug-delivery technology to provide sustained or controlled release of medicines in ophthalmic applications.

Its commercial products include Dextenza, a dexamethasone ophthalmic insert used to treat ocular inflammation and itching following ophthalmic surgery, and Yutiq, a fluocinolone acetonide intravitreal implant indicated for the treatment of chronic noninfectious posterior uveitis.