Chardan Capital Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL)

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Chardan Capital in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $21.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Chardan Capital’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 198.72% from the stock’s current price.

OCUL has been the subject of several other reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ocular Therapeutix from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ocular Therapeutix has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.00.

Ocular Therapeutix Price Performance

NASDAQ OCUL opened at $7.03 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.88 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 15.39 and a quick ratio of 15.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $10.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.71. Ocular Therapeutix has a 1 year low of $5.78 and a 1 year high of $16.44.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.29) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ocular Therapeutix will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Nadia Waheed sold 7,863 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.04, for a total transaction of $71,081.52. Following the sale, the insider owned 318,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,878,489.68. The trade was a 2.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Donald Notman sold 11,446 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.04, for a total value of $103,471.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 366,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,311,858.24. This represents a 3.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 166,029 shares of company stock worth $1,498,430 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ocular Therapeutix

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OCUL. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 62.9% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ocular Therapeutix in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. Finally, KBC Group NV acquired a new position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the fourth quarter worth about $78,000. 59.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.