Citigroup Inc. Buys 573,504 Shares of Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. $OCUL

Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) by 574.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 673,348 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 573,504 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.32% of Ocular Therapeutix worth $7,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in OCUL. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ocular Therapeutix by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,604 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392 shares during the last quarter. Marex Group plc bought a new position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $115,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 21.2% in the second quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 13,413 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 2,343 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Ocular Therapeutix in the third quarter worth $126,000. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in Ocular Therapeutix in the third quarter worth $132,000. 59.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ocular Therapeutix Price Performance

Shares of OCUL stock opened at $8.94 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $10.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.21 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 15.32 and a current ratio of 15.39. Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. has a 52-week low of $5.78 and a 52-week high of $16.44.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.33) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $13.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.13 million. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative return on equity of 70.68% and a negative net margin of 511.90%.The business’s revenue was down 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.29) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. will post -0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on OCUL shares. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Ocular Therapeutix from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Ocular Therapeutix from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ocular Therapeutix from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Donald Notman sold 11,446 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 $103,471.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 366,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,311,858.24. The trade was a 3.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Pravin Dugel sold 124,882 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.04, for a total value of $1,128,933.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 3,033,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,419,025.12. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 197,221 shares of company stock worth $1,754,805 over the last ninety days. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ocular Therapeutix 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.