Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $10.04, but opened at $10.83. Ocular Therapeutix shares last traded at $10.8060, with a volume of 2,671,303 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OCUL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Ocular Therapeutix from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Ocular Therapeutix from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $24.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective (up from $21.00) on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Eleven 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.75.

Ocular Therapeutix Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $9.29 and a 200-day moving average of $9.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.55 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 13.10, a quick ratio of 13.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.35) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $13.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.20 million. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative return on equity of 59.89% and a negative net margin of 579.10%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.39) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. will post -1.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ocular Therapeutix

In related news, insider Pravin Dugel sold 21,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.20, for a total value of $173,479.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,597,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,296,794. This represents a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 28,999 shares of company stock valued at $237,792 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ocular Therapeutix

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of OCUL. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $190,278,000. Summer Road LLC increased its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 6.9% in the first quarter. Summer Road LLC now owns 11,879,825 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $100,622,000 after acquiring an additional 771,270 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,575,193 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $140,523,000 after acquiring an additional 2,411,953 shares during the last quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Ocular Therapeutix by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Avoro Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,777,777 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $130,842,000 after purchasing an additional 527,777 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCG Crossover Management LLC raised its position in Ocular Therapeutix by 15.0% during the third quarter. TCG Crossover Management LLC now owns 6,117,232 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $71,510,000 after purchasing an additional 798,084 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.21% 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.