Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) Short Interest Up 34.2% in March

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 23,683,101 shares, an increase of 34.2% from the February 26th total of 17,648,381 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,660,775 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days. Approximately 11.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OCUL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on Ocular Therapeutix from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ocular Therapeutix presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.78.

Insider Activity

In other Ocular Therapeutix news, insider Sanjay Nayak sold 10,348 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.04, for a total transaction of $93,545.92. Following the transaction, the insider owned 332,412 shares in the company, valued at $3,005,004.48. This trade represents a 3.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard L. Md Lindstrom purchased 60,229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $7.66 per share, for a total transaction of $461,354.14. Following the transaction, the director owned 246,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,891,506.78. This trade represents a 32.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 197,221 shares of company stock valued at $1,754,805. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ocular Therapeutix

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 574.4% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 673,348 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,871,000 after purchasing an additional 573,504 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 9.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,163,240 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $107,118,000 after buying an additional 771,065 shares in the last quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. acquired a new stake in Ocular Therapeutix during the third quarter worth $2,360,000. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ocular Therapeutix by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,250,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $119,822,000 after buying an additional 2,850,000 shares during the period. Finally, Rhenman & Partners Asset Management AB bought a new stake in Ocular Therapeutix in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,361,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.21% of the company’s stock.

Ocular Therapeutix Stock Performance

Ocular Therapeutix stock traded down $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $7.55. The company had a trading volume of 2,822,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,210,723. The company has a quick ratio of 15.32, a current ratio of 15.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Ocular Therapeutix has a 52 week low of $5.80 and a 52 week high of $16.44. The company has a 50 day moving average of $9.24 and a 200-day moving average of $11.09. The firm has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.24 and a beta of 0.91.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.33) by $0.04. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative net margin of 511.90% and a negative return on equity of 70.68%. The company had revenue of $13.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.29) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ocular Therapeutix will post -0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.