Ocugen, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCGN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Ocugen, Inc. (NASDAQ:OCGN) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 64,754,908 shares, a growth of 23.7% from the March 15th total of 52,358,943 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 12,231,366 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.3 days. Approximately 20.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of OCGN. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Ocugen by 3.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,223,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,814,000 after buying an additional 450,904 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ocugen by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 5,396,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,285,000 after acquiring an additional 1,234,268 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position in Ocugen by 373.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,849,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,547,000 after purchasing an additional 3,824,474 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Ocugen by 193.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,978,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,371,000 after purchasing an additional 2,623,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ocugen by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,819,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,159,000 after purchasing an additional 142,050 shares during the last quarter. 10.27% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ocugen Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:OCGN traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1.99. 5,155,871 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,882,482. Ocugen has a twelve month low of $0.64 and a twelve month high of $2.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.59. The stock has a market cap of $652.52 million, a P/E ratio of -8.65 and a beta of 2.80.

Ocugen (NASDAQ:OCGN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06). The firm had revenue of ($0.19) million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.86 million. Ocugen had a negative net margin of 1,192.18% and a negative return on equity of 2,626.38%. On average, research analysts forecast that Ocugen will post -0.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Ocugen in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Ocugen in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $10.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ocugen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Chardan Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $7.00 target price on shares of Ocugen in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Ocugen from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.75.

Ocugen Company Profile

Ocugen Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing gene therapies to treat rare inherited retinal diseases, as well as vaccines designed to address unmet needs in infectious diseases. Headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania, the company applies its proprietary gene therapy platform to create novel treatments aimed at preserving and restoring vision, while leveraging strategic partnerships to broaden its vaccine pipeline.

In its gene therapy portfolio, Ocugen is advancing multiple programs targeting retinal disorders.