Voya Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. $OCUL

Voya Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) by 36.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 184,427 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 107,143 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ocular Therapeutix were worth $2,156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Ocular Therapeutix by 44.4% in the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 5,200,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $38,116,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600,000 shares during the last quarter. Deltec Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Deltec Asset Management LLC now owns 2,794,892 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,937,000 after purchasing an additional 78,519 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 91.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,538,846 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $14,280,000 after purchasing an additional 734,017 shares during the last quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the 1st quarter worth about $9,632,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Ocular Therapeutix by 142.8% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 884,381 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,207,000 after buying an additional 520,138 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on OCUL. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Ocular Therapeutix from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 6th. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Ocular Therapeutix from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Chardan Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.56.

Ocular Therapeutix Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ OCUL opened at $12.56 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.72 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.73. Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. has a 12-month low of $5.78 and a 12-month high of $16.44. The company has a current ratio of 7.85, a quick ratio of 7.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.37) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.39) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $14.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.57 million. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative return on equity of 86.33% and a negative net margin of 447.57%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. will post -0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ocular Therapeutix

In related news, insider Todd Anderman sold 11,132 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.34, for a total transaction of $137,368.88. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 87,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,080,589.12. This represents a 11.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey S. Heier sold 10,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.04, for a total transaction of $115,942.08. Following the transaction, the insider owned 249,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,753,475.36. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,287 shares of company stock valued at $359,784. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Ocular Therapeutix

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.