Short Interest in Oculis Holding AG (NASDAQ:OCS) Expands By 38.8%

Oculis Holding AG (NASDAQ:OCS) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 34,700 shares, a growth of 38.8% from the February 28th total of 25,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 71,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.5 days. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Oculis in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Oculis from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, HC Wainwright lowered their price objective on shares of Oculis from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th.

Institutional Trading of Oculis

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Oculis by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Bellevue Group AG purchased a new stake in Oculis in the fourth quarter worth $170,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Oculis by 58.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 28,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $493,000 after buying an additional 10,667 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Oculis during the 4th quarter valued at $225,000. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Oculis during the 4th quarter worth $389,000. Institutional investors own 22.30% of the company’s stock.

Oculis Stock Performance

Shares of OCS traded down $0.37 on Tuesday, reaching $18.66. 29,935 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 46,208. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.62. The stock has a market cap of $814.73 million, a PE ratio of -9.67 and a beta of 0.01. Oculis has a 52-week low of $10.55 and a 52-week high of $23.08. The company has a current ratio of 4.02, a quick ratio of 4.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Oculis (NASDAQ:OCS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported ($0.76) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by ($0.28). Oculis had a negative net margin of 8,043.28% and a negative return on equity of 71.31%. On average, analysts forecast that Oculis will post -2.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Oculis Company Profile

Oculis Holding AG, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops drug candidates to treat ophthalmic diseases. The company's lead product candidate is OCS-01, a topical dexamethasone optireach formulation, which is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of diabetic macular edema; OCS-02, a topical biologic candidate that is in Phase 2b clinical trials for the treatment for dry eye disease; and OCS-05, a disease modifying neuroprotective agent for neurological damage with indications for glaucoma, dry age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, and acute optic neuritis.