Why Ocugen Shares Are Popping Off

Ocugen Inc OCGN shares are trading higher by 14% to $1.58 during Wednesday’s session. The company yesterday provided an update on its business activities and financial status for the year ending 2023.

Ocugen highlighted progress in its modifier gene therapy programs for blindness diseases. Key developments include promising results in the OCU400 Phase 1/2 study for Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), with FDA recognition through RMAT designation, potentially accelerating therapy delivery.

Additionally, enrollment and dosing progress were noted in OCU410 and OCU410ST trials targeting conditions like dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration (dAMD) and Stargardt disease.

The company also emphasized the unmet medical needs in these areas and its commitment to delivering potentially life-changing treatments. Ocugen also mentioned strategic resource allocation and government funding pursuits for its vaccine programs, particularly highlighting its mucosal vaccine candidate OCU500 chosen for NIAID Project NextGen. Furthermore, its NeoCart® platform for cartilage repair is progressing toward a Phase 3 trial.

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Financially, Ocugen plans to restate its financial statements for 2022 and include restated information for the first three quarters of 2023 in its 2023 Form 10-K due to identified errors related to non-cash accounting in collaboration arrangements.

Despite a decrease in cash, cash equivalents and investments compared to the previous year, the company estimates its current financial position can fund operations into the fourth quarter of 2024.

What Else?

Ocugen shares are also higher by some 80% over the trailing month amid the Third Circuit Court of Appeals last upholding the decision of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to dismiss with prejudice the consolidated securities class action lawsuits against Ocugen.

Additionally, Ocugen in March announced that on March 15, the Board of Directors approved an amendment to Ocugen’s bylaws, reducing the quorum requirement for stockholder meetings from a majority to one third of the outstanding shares entitled to vote generally in the election of directors.

A lower quorum requirement can make it easier for the company to conduct business at stockholder meetings, as it requires fewer shareholders to be present for decisions to be made. This change might be seen as a move to streamline corporate governance processes and enhance flexibility, which could be viewed favorably by investors.

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Is OCGN A Good Stock To Buy?

An investor can make a few decisions when deciding whether a stock is a good buy. In addition to valuation metrics and price action which you can find on Benzinga's quote pages – like Ocugen‘s page for example – there are factors like whether or not a company pays a dividend or buys a large portion of its stock each quarter.

These are known as capital allocation programs. Ocugen does not pay a dividend, but obviously has a few ways it can return value to shareholders. Feel free to search Benzinga's dividend calendar for the next company that is due to pay a dividend and determine what kind of yield you can earn for holding a share of the company.

For example, if you're looking to earn an annualized return of 11.68%, you'll need to buy a share of Nuveen Floating Rate Inc by the Apr. 12, 2024. Once done, you can expect to receive a nominal payout of $0.09 on May. 1, 2024.

Buyback programs are obviously different and highly variable. A company can approve a buyback program and purchase shares as it sees fit over the course of time in which the buyback was authorized. Looking through the latest news on Ocugen will often yield whether or not the company has approved a buyback program recently. Buyback programs usually serve as a support for share prices, serving as a backstop for demand.

According to data from Benzinga Pro, OCGN has a 52-week high of $2.10 and a 52-week low of $0.34.