Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) Chief Scientific Officer Jeffrey S. Heier executed a sale of 3,057 shares of the company's common stock on February 23, 2026, according to a Form 4 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The shares moved at a weighted average price of $8.28, producing total proceeds of $25,311. Trade prices on the sale ranged between $8.2150 and $8.3500.
Following the disposition, Heier directly holds 323,368 shares of Ocular Therapeutix. The filing specifies that the sale was undertaken to satisfy tax liabilities associated with the vesting of restricted stock units.
Market movement since the sale has been pronounced. OCUL shares reached $9.50, representing a 15% increase versus Heier's weighted sale price, and the company’s stock shows a broader one-week rise of 38% during the same interval. InvestingPro data cited in filings and commentary indicate that sell-side price targets for the company span from $18 to $34.
Beyond insider activity, recent clinical and analyst developments are shaping the investment narrative for Ocular Therapeutix. The company reported positive topline results from its Phase 3 superiority study, SOL-1, evaluating Axpaxli in wet age-related macular degeneration. In that trial, 74.1% of patients maintained vision at Week 36, compared with 55.8% of patients treated with aflibercept.
Analyst reactions have been mixed. Needham lowered its price target for Ocular Therapeutix to $18, citing what it described as a narrower-than-expected efficacy gap in vision maintenance between Axpaxli and the comparator. In contrast, Raymond James reiterated a Strong Buy rating and set a $28 target, noting that the FDA’s revised policy requiring only a single pivotal study for approval could be supportive of the company’s pathway. RBC Capital maintained an Outperform rating with a $30 price target, indicating no fundamental shift in its outlook despite recent market moves.
The FDA policy change is highlighted in market commentary as potentially material to the regulatory pathway for Axpaxli, with observers noting that the new policy could streamline the approval process for the planned NDA submission. These regulatory and clinical developments, together with analyst revisions and insider selling to cover tax obligations, are coalescing into the current market picture for OCUL.
For investors seeking deeper company-level analysis, the company and related services reference a Pro Research Report available through InvestingPro covering OCUL and more than 1,400 other U.S. equities. The report and InvestingPro data are cited as sources for analyst price target ranges and other market context.
This article presents the transaction, clinical results, and analyst actions as reported; no additional claims or speculation are offered beyond the cited filings and published analyst notes.