BUZZ - Ocular Therapeutix shares plunge as competitor Kodiak wins clinical trial; analysts say the sell-off is an overreaction

September 28 - ** Ocular Therapeutix (OCUL.O) shares fell 18.8% in afternoon trading to $7.84

** Kodiak Sciences (KOD.O)’s experimental drugs Zenkuda and tabirafusp-ted met the main endpoints in late-stage trials for patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (link), showing vision improvement comparable to Regeneron (REGN.O)’s blockbuster ophthalmology drug aflibercept

** Ocular is developing axpaxli, a long-acting competitive therapy for patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD)

** RBC Capital Markets analyst Lisa Walter said, “Today’s selloff in OCUL shares is overdone,” as the current valuation “does not reflect the potential for axpaxli to become a $1 billion revenue drug within 3–4 years of approval for the wAMD indication”

** “We still believe OCUL has the best-positioned long-acting therapy,” Walter added

** Kodiak Sciences stock surged 189% to $93.59, putting the company on track to add about $3.85 billion to its market value

** Including today’s intraday moves, OCUL is down 35% so far this year, while KOD is up 221% year-to-date

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