Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Purchases 278,610 Shares of Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCUL) by 26.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,334,702 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 278,610 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Ocular Therapeutix were worth $11,398,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in OCUL. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ocular Therapeutix during the 4th quarter worth approximately $100,000. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in Ocular Therapeutix in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $124,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Ocular Therapeutix in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $149,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Ocular Therapeutix during the fourth quarter worth $159,000. 59.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on OCUL shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on Ocular Therapeutix in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $15.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $17.00 price target for the company. Finally, JMP Securities set a $19.00 target price on shares of Ocular Therapeutix in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ocular Therapeutix has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.38.

Ocular Therapeutix Stock Performance

Shares of OCUL stock opened at $7.58 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $7.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.75. Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. has a one year low of $4.06 and a one year high of $11.78. The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.74 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 13.01 and a quick ratio of 12.94.

Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) last issued its 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). The firm had revenue of $17.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.89 million. Ocular Therapeutix had a negative net margin of 283.74% and a negative return on equity of 45.18%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ocular Therapeutix, Inc. will post -0.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Ocular Therapeutix news, insider Donald Notman sold 11,119 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.81, for a total value of $86,839.39. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 193,444 shares in the company, valued at $1,510,797.64. The trade was a 5.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Pravin Dugel sold 21,475 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 3,520,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,184,584.66. This represents a 0.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,895 shares of company stock valued at $283,772 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Ocular Therapeutix Company Profile

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.