Needham & Company LLC Lowers Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) Price Target to $18.00

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) had its target price decreased by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $20.00 to $18.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 131.36% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Ocular Therapeutix from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ocular Therapeutix currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.78.

Ocular Therapeutix Price Performance

Shares of Ocular Therapeutix stock opened at $7.78 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.40 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 15.32 and a current ratio of 15.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.68. Ocular Therapeutix has a one year low of $5.78 and a one year high of $16.44.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative return on equity of 70.68% and a negative net margin of 511.90%.The company had revenue of $13.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.13 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.29) earnings per share. Ocular Therapeutix’s revenue was down 22.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Ocular Therapeutix will post -0.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ocular Therapeutix

In other Ocular Therapeutix news, insider Pravin Dugel sold 124,882 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.04, for a total transaction of $1,128,933.28. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,033,078 shares in the company, valued at $27,419,025.12. This represents a 3.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Sanjay Nayak sold 10,348 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 transaction of $93,545.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 332,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,005,004.48. The trade was a 3.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 166,029 shares of company stock valued at $1,498,430. Insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ocular Therapeutix

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. XTX Topco Ltd grew its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 49,073 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 14,640 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,859,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 74,317 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $902,000 after buying an additional 12,753 shares during the last quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. bought a new position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,149,000. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP lifted its position in Ocular Therapeutix by 123.3% during the fourth quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP now owns 140,350 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,704,000 after acquiring an additional 77,504 shares during the last quarter. 59.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ocular Therapeutix Company Profile

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.