Royal Bank of Canada Begins Coverage on Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL)

Equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $17.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 114.11% from the company’s previous close.

OCUL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. JMP Securities set a $19.00 price objective on Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.38.

Ocular Therapeutix Price Performance

Ocular Therapeutix stock opened at $7.94 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 12.94, a current ratio of 13.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.82. Ocular Therapeutix has a 52 week low of $4.06 and a 52 week high of $11.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of -6.02 and a beta of 1.34.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($0.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by ($0.05). Ocular Therapeutix had a negative net margin of 283.74% and a negative return on equity of 45.18%. The business had revenue of $17.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.89 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ocular Therapeutix will post -0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Donald Notman sold 6,301 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.84, for a total transaction of $49,399.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 204,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,603,773.92. This represents a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Pravin Dugel sold 21,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.87, for a total transaction of $147,533.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,520,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,184,584.66. The trade was a 0.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,895 shares of company stock worth $283,772. 3.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ocular Therapeutix

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 92,734 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $792,000 after buying an additional 2,454 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 27,777 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 2,526 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 88,463 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $755,000 after purchasing an additional 2,853 shares during the period. HighVista Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix by 5.1% during the third quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC now owns 65,027 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $566,000 after acquiring an additional 3,168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.21% of the company’s stock.

About Ocular Therapeutix

Ocular Therapeutix, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the formulation, development, and commercialization of therapies for diseases and conditions of the eye using its bioresorbable hydrogel-based formulation technology in the United States. The company markets DEXTENZA, a dexamethasone ophthalmic insert to treat post-surgical ocular inflammation and pain following ophthalmic surgery, as well as allergic conjunctivitis.