Biotech Speculators Should Try a Small Position in Ocugen Stock

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People love to talk about Covid-19 stocks like Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA), Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) and iBio (NYSEAMERICAN:IBIO) and that’s all fine and good. But as a result, sometimes traders ignore companies like Ocugen (NASDAQ:OCGN). Just because OCGN stock isn’t connected to the novel coronavirus doesn’t mean that it’s not worth investigating.

Image of two scientists in lab coats studying results in a lab

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Ocugen describes itself as “a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing transformative therapies to treat blindness diseases.”

This area of therapeutics isn’t a red-hot topic among traders in chat rooms or financial message boards.

Moreover, Ocugen is a small company and the OCGN share price has experienced significant price drops over the years. In addition, treating rare and underserved eye diseases isn’t a flashy, headline-grabbing area of endeavor.

These contributing factors have kept OCGN stock largely under the radar in 2020. If you’re willing to look where other biotech traders don’t, however, then you might uncover a hidden gem with OCGN.

A Closer Look at OCGN Stock

If anything has kept people out of the OCGN stock trade, it’s the nasty price action. OCGN is classified as a penny stock today under U.S. Securities and Exchange commission guidelines. That’s because its share price is below $5.

In fact, on Sept. 14 OCGN stock was trading at less than 35 cents. That’s a steep fall as the stock was valued at more than $10 last year. And in 2018, the OCGN share price was significantly higher than $10.

On a technical level, the best way to trade OCGN stock is to take a small position when the price is depressed. Sometimes the share price unexpectedly spikes higher. This happened in July and then again in August of this year.

That’s a strategy for short-term speculative traders. For long-term investors, it’s important to determine whether Ocugen deserves your time and capital. So, let’s take a closer look at this bold, unique company.

A Powerful Vision Powers OCGN Stock

Probably my favorite feature of Ocugen is that the company is working hard to treat a highly specified class of retinal conditions. In particular, OCU400 aims at treating various forms of retinal degeneration. Then there’s OCU410, which is designed to treat wet age related macular degeneration.

Perhaps the most exciting of Ocugen’s drug programs, however, is OCU200, which is intended to treat multiple diseases. These include diabetic macular edema, wet age related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.

Ocugen clearly takes pride in its “one to many” approach to treating multiple conditions. I don’t blame the company for touting its unique approach, which InvestorPlace contributor Luke Lango aptly described as “one gene therapy to modify multiple genetic mutations.”

Small Company, Big Market

Lango further added that this multiplicity is “a big deal because the core disease Ocugen is trying to treat — retinitis pigmentosa (RP) — has over 150 gene mutations.” I couldn’t agree more and would want to see more research conducted in this high-need area.

Moreover, Ocugen has four Orphan Drug Designations for OCU400. That’s a designation for rare disease/condition treatments that only the U.S. Food and Drug Administration can provide. It’s basically the government’s green light to aggressively pursue a drug candidate.

Besides, it’s safe to say that Ocugen is making strides in a market that’s poised for considerable growth. As reported by Grand View Research, the global ophthalmic drugs market was worth $31 billion last year.

Plus, from 2019 to 2027, that market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5%. Hence, by investing in OCGN stock, you can participate in a field that’s fairly specific yet steadily expanding.

The Bottom Line

Like many biotech stocks, it’s best to treat OCGN stock as speculative and commit only a small amount of capital to it. With that caveat, investors can use this stock as a way to support important research while potentially profiting from a growth-oriented market.

On the date of publication, David Moadel did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.

David Moadel has provided compelling content – and crossed the occasional line – on behalf of Motley Fool, Crush the Street, Market Realist, TalkMarkets, TipRanks, Benzinga, and (of course) InvestorPlace.com. He also serves as the chief analyst and market researcher for Portfolio Wealth Global and hosts the popular financial YouTube channel Looking at the Markets.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2020/09/biotech-speculators-should-try-a-small-position-in-ocgn-stock/.

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