Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ: OCUL) said that its chief executive officer, Pravin Dugel, sold 20,056 shares of the company's common stock on February 23, 2026. According to a Form 4 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the shares were sold at prices between $8.21 and $8.37, producing total proceeds of $166,063.
The filing clarifies that the disposition was carried out under a pre-arranged automatic sale instruction implemented to cover tax withholding obligations arising from the vesting of restricted stock units. The Form 4 indicates these sales were not discretionary transactions by Mr. Dugel, but rather executed as part of the pre-existing instruction tied to his equity grants.
Following the executed sale, Mr. Dugel's direct ownership in Ocular Therapeutix stands at 3,013,022 shares. The filing also notes an indirect holding of 300,115 shares through the Pravin Dugel 2024 Irrevocable Trust.
Market movement around the company has been notable: the stock has rallied 38% over the past week to trade at $9.50. Separately, analyses cited in the company's disclosures describe a balance sheet with more cash than debt, a detail attributed to InvestingPro analysis. Analysts cited in the same reporting assign price targets ranging from $18 to $34.
Investor attention has also focused on recent clinical data from Ocular Therapeutix. The company announced results from the SOL-1 Phase 3 study of AXPAXLI for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In that trial, 74.1% of patients treated with AXPAXLI maintained their vision at Week 36, compared with 55.8% of those treated with aflibercept, a difference reported as statistically significant.
Despite the positive SOL-1 topline, the stock experienced a decline in the aftermath of the announcement. Analyst commentary has been mixed: Needham reduced its price target for Ocular Therapeutix from $20 to $18 while upholding a Buy rating, citing a narrower-than-expected efficacy gap driven by Eylea's stronger-than-expected performance. Raymond James maintained a Strong Buy rating with a $28 price target, noting that the FDA's revised policy requiring only one pivotal study for approval could be favorable for the company's AXPAXLI NDA submission. RBC Capital reiterated an Outperform rating with a $30 price target and flagged that the stock's drop occurred without any stated fundamental change to the business.
The combination of an insider sale executed under a pre-arranged tax-withholding instruction, a recent surge in share price, differing analyst valuations and the mixed market response to the SOL-1 results frames the current investor landscape for Ocular Therapeutix. The company continues to be evaluated by market participants for both its near-term regulatory pathway and its longer-term commercial prospects tied to AXPAXLI.
Note: The sale reported in the SEC Form 4 was executed to satisfy tax withholding related to the vesting of restricted stock units and was not a discretionary trade by the CEO, according to the filing.