Needham & Company LLC Reiterates Buy Rating for Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL)

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by Needham & Company LLC in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $18.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 85.38% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Ocular Therapeutix from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.78.

Ocular Therapeutix Price Performance

NASDAQ:OCUL opened at $9.71 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.65 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 15.39, a quick ratio of 15.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company’s 50-day moving average is $9.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.53. Ocular Therapeutix has a 12-month low of $6.23 and a 12-month high of $16.44.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.29) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.33) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $13.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.13 million. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative net margin of 558.24% and a negative return on equity of 71.22%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.29) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ocular Therapeutix will post -1.29 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Richard L. Md Lindstrom bought 60,229 shares of Ocular Therapeutix stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $7.66 per share, for a total transaction of $461,354.14. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 246,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,891,506.78. The trade was a 32.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Sanjay Nayak sold 10,348 shares of Ocular Therapeutix stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.04, for a total value of $93,545.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 332,412 shares in the company, valued at $3,005,004.48. The trade was a 3.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 185,731 shares of company stock worth $1,653,407. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ocular Therapeutix

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Ocular Therapeutix by 30.4% in the 1st quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,520 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew 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 raised its holdings in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 1.8% during the 2nd 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 period. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its position in Ocular Therapeutix by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 8,950 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ocular Therapeutix by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 25,178 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 2,272 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.21% of the company’s stock.

Ocular Therapeutix Company Profile

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.