Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) Shares Up 9.3% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) traded up 9.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $8.14 and last traded at $8.0850. 2,003,994 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 6,250,368 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on OCUL. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Chardan Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ocular Therapeutix from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ocular Therapeutix has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.78.

Ocular Therapeutix Trading Up 12.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 15.32, a current ratio of 15.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.77 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $9.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.04.

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

Insider Activity at Ocular Therapeutix

In related news, insider Pravin Dugel sold 124,882 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.04, for a total transaction of $1,128,933.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 3,033,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,419,025.12. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard L. Md Lindstrom acquired 60,229 shares of Ocular Therapeutix stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $7.66 per share, for a total transaction of $461,354.14. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 246,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,891,506.78. The trade was a 32.26% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 197,221 shares of company stock worth $1,754,805. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 124.2% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,242 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Ocular Therapeutix in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Ocular Therapeutix during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the 4th quarter worth about $78,000. 59.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.