Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on OCUL. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Chardan Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price 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. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ocular Therapeutix has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.11.

Ocular Therapeutix Trading Down 8.0%

NASDAQ OCUL opened at $9.16 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.27 and a beta of 0.88. Ocular Therapeutix has a fifty-two week low of $6.23 and a fifty-two week high of $16.44. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 14.73 and a current ratio of 14.81.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Pravin Dugel sold 21,156 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.20, for a total value of $173,479.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,597,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,296,794. This represents a 0.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 28,999 shares of company stock valued at $237,792. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ocular Therapeutix

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Ocular Therapeutix by 124.2% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,242 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the 4th quarter worth about $78,000. 59.21% of the stock is 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.