Short Interest in Oculis Holding AG (NASDAQ:OCS) Increases By 69.3%

Oculis Holding AG (NASDAQ:OCS) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,102,658 shares, a growth of 69.3% from the May 31st total of 651,247 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,672,824 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.7 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Oculis by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 69,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,855,000 after acquiring an additional 5,813 shares in the last quarter. Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Oculis in the 1st quarter valued at about $503,000. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Oculis in the 1st quarter worth about $238,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Oculis in the 1st quarter worth about $776,000. Finally, Perceptive Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Oculis during the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,862,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 22.30% of the company’s stock.

Oculis Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OCS opened at $14.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 5.18 and a quick ratio of 5.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $818.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.63 and a beta of 0.44. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.86. Oculis has a 12 month low of $10.52 and a 12 month high of $34.47.

Oculis (NASDAQ:OCS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.63) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by ($0.14). Oculis had a negative net margin of 8,460.67% and a negative return on equity of 56.78%. The firm had revenue of $0.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.25 million. Analysts expect that Oculis will post -2.27 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on OCS shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Oculis from $49.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Oculis from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on Oculis from $46.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Oculis from $42.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Oculis from $50.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.33.

About Oculis

Oculis SA (NASDAQ: OCS) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel ophthalmic therapies designed primarily to treat retinal and neuro-ophthalmic diseases. Leveraging its proprietary technology platforms, Oculis aims to deliver therapeutic agents to the back of the eye through topical or nasal administration, potentially offering an alternative to current intravitreal injections. The company’s pipeline includes OCS-01, a topical dexamethasone formulation targeting diabetic macular edema; OCS-05, a neuroprotective candidate for acute optic neuritis and idiopathic intracranial hypertension; and OC-02, a nasal spray formulation of varenicline for dry eye disease.

Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Oculis operates research and development facilities across Europe and in the United States, with a presence in Cambridge, Massachusetts.