Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on OCUL. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Ocular Therapeutix from $20.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $17.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.33.

Ocular Therapeutix Stock Performance

Shares of OCUL opened at $12.10 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of -9.45 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 10.10 and a quick ratio of 10.02. Ocular Therapeutix has a one year low of $5.78 and a one year high of $13.85. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $11.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.82.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.37) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.39) by $0.02. The company had revenue of $14.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.57 million. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative net margin of 382.51% and a negative return on equity of 71.92%. As a group, analysts expect that Ocular Therapeutix will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Peter Kaiser sold 9,653 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.03, for a total transaction of $106,472.59. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 194,440 shares in the company, valued at $2,144,673.20. This trade represents a 4.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey S. Heier sold 10,502 shares of Ocular Therapeutix stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.04, for a total transaction of $115,942.08. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 249,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,753,475.36. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 32,353 shares of company stock worth $373,034 over the last three months. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ocular Therapeutix

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in Ocular Therapeutix by 151.5% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 5,238 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 3,155 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 17.0% in the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,154 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Ocular Therapeutix in the third quarter worth $80,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 16.1% during the second quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 7,200 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.21% of the company’s stock.

About Ocular Therapeutix

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the formulation, development, and commercialization of therapies for diseases and conditions of the eye using its bioresorbable hydrogel-based formulation technology in the United States. The company markets DEXTENZA, a dexamethasone ophthalmic insert to treat post-surgical ocular inflammation and pain following ophthalmic surgery, as well as allergic conjunctivitis.