The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Acquires Shares of 229,256 Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. $OCUL

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 229,256 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,251,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of OCUL. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 30.4% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 420.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 6,412 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 5,179 shares in the last quarter. 59.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on OCUL shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Ocular Therapeutix from $24.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Ocular Therapeutix from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Friday, July 17th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.75.

Ocular Therapeutix Stock Up 3.1%

Ocular Therapeutix stock opened at $10.90 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.39 billion, a PE ratio of -7.68 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 13.03 and a current ratio of 13.10. Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. has a one year low of $6.23 and a one year high of $16.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $9.72 and a 200 day moving average of $9.20.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $13.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.20 million. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative return on equity of 59.89% and a negative net margin of 579.10%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.39) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. will post -1.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ocular Therapeutix

In other news, insider Peter Kaiser sold 3,035 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.77, for a total value of $32,686.95. Following the transaction, the insider owned 264,378 shares in the company, valued at $2,847,351.06. This represents a 1.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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. Also, insider Pravin Dugel sold 21,649 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.77, for a total transaction of $233,159.73. Following the sale, the insider owned 2,525,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,198,870.33. This trade represents a 0.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 29,877 shares of company stock worth $321,827 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.10% 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.