Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

OCUL has been the topic of several other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ocular Therapeutix from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price target (up from $21.00) on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $24.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Eleven equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ocular Therapeutix currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.75.

Ocular Therapeutix Price Performance

NASDAQ:OCUL opened at $10.10 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 13.03, a current ratio of 13.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $9.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.11 and a beta of 0.93. Ocular Therapeutix has a 12-month low of $6.23 and a 12-month high of $16.44.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by $0.05. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative return on equity of 59.89% and a negative net margin of 579.10%.The business had revenue of $13.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.39) EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Ocular Therapeutix will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Pravin Dugel sold 21,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.20, for a total value of $173,479.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,597,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,296,794. This represents a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through 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. Insiders have sold a total of 28,999 shares of company stock valued at $237,792 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ocular Therapeutix

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 30.4% in the first quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,520 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 1,053 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 124.2% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,242 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in 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 worth $674,000 after acquiring an additional 1,314 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Ocular Therapeutix by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 13,413 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 2,343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 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.