Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Stake in Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. $OCUL

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) by 1,261.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 620,814 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 575,214 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Ocular Therapeutix were worth $7,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Ocular Therapeutix by 1.8% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 72,618 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,314 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 9.9% in the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 25,178 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,272 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 13,413 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 2,343 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 225,548 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,093,000 after buying an additional 2,433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its holdings in Ocular Therapeutix by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 24,535 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 3,125 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 59.21% of the company’s stock.

Ocular Therapeutix Trading Down 6.4%

NASDAQ OCUL opened at $7.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 15.32, a current ratio of 15.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $9.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.09. Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. has a twelve month low of $5.80 and a twelve month high of $16.44. The company has a market capitalization of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.24 and a beta of 0.91.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.33) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $13.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.13 million. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative return on equity of 70.68% and a negative net margin of 511.90%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.29) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. will post -0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OCUL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ocular Therapeutix from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Chardan Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ocular Therapeutix news, insider Sanjay Nayak sold 10,348 shares of Ocular Therapeutix stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.04, for a total transaction of $93,545.92. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 332,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,005,004.48. This trade represents a 3.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nadia Waheed sold 3,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.74, for a total transaction of $27,167.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 314,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,437,380.18. The trade was a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 197,221 shares of company stock worth $1,754,805 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

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.