Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) Insider Sells $23,266.80 in Stock

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) insider Peter Kaiser sold 2,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.28, for a total transaction of $23,266.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 269,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,228,214.24. This represents a 1.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Ocular Therapeutix Price Performance

Shares of OCUL stock traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $9.50. The company had a trading volume of 7,845,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,060,435. Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. has a 12 month low of $5.78 and a 12 month high of $16.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 15.32 and a current ratio of 15.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $10.53 and its 200 day moving average is $11.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.60 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Key Stories Impacting Ocular Therapeutix

Here are the key news stories impacting Ocular Therapeutix this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Director Richard L. Lindstrom bought 60,229 shares at an average $7.66 (a ~32% increase in his stake) — a sizable insider purchase that signals confidence and provides direct demand support for the shares. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Ocular will present detailed SOL‑1 data at the 49th Macula Society meeting and host an investor webcast — a potential catalyst if data or management commentary clarifies commercial or clinical outlooks. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: The company will participate in March investor conferences, increasing visibility with institutional investors but not introducing new clinical data by itself. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several small institutional moves were reported (new / larger stakes by boutique managers). These are modest in dollar terms and mainly signal ongoing institutional interest rather than a major position shift. (No single large fund reported a material cut.)
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest jumped ~27.8% in February to ~14.7M shares (about 6.9% of shares outstanding) with a ~3.0 days‑to‑cover — higher shorting can amplify downside on negative news and adds volatility risk.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple insiders sold shares in late Feb (including Pravin Dugel, Sanjay Nayak, Jeffrey Heier, Peter Kaiser and Nadia Waheed). While some sales are modest relative to holdings, the cluster of transactions can be perceived as a negative signal. Representative SEC disclosure: Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Needham lowered its price target to $18 (from $20) — a downward adjustment from a sell‑side firm that could temper sentiment among growth/biotech investors. Read More.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ocular Therapeutix from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Chardan Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Twelve 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.78.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pale Fire Capital SE increased its stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 20.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 530,135 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,920,000 after acquiring an additional 90,748 shares during the last quarter. Saturn V Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 21.8% during the 2nd quarter. Saturn V Capital Management LP now owns 728,576 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,761,000 after acquiring an additional 130,385 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Ocular Therapeutix during the second quarter valued at approximately $342,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 63.2% in the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 61,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $568,000 after purchasing an additional 23,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 33.6% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 296,546 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,752,000 after purchasing an additional 74,542 shares in the last quarter. 59.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.