Oculis amended its loan facility with BlackRock, increasing borrowing capacity to CHF 100 million, enhancing financial flexibility for upcoming clinical milestones.
Quiver AI Summary
Oculis Holding AG has amended its loan facility with BlackRock, replacing a previous agreement from May 2024. The newly structured Amended Loan Agreement provides Oculis with CHF 75.0 million in borrowing capacity, potentially increasing to CHF 100.0 million. This loan consists of tranches totaling CHF 75.0 million, with access to an additional CHF 25.0 million under certain terms. The financing will enhance Oculis' financial flexibility as it progresses with key clinical and regulatory milestones for its product candidates, including important trials and regulatory discussions scheduled throughout 2025 and 2026. CEO Riad Sherif expressed satisfaction with the loan's expansion, highlighting its role in supporting the company’s operational strength and investment in transformative treatments for patients.
Potential Positives
- The amendment of the loan facility provides Oculis with increased borrowing capacity of CHF 75.0 million, potentially rising to CHF 100.0 million, which enhances the company's financial flexibility.
- This additional capital will support Oculis as it approaches key milestones for three core assets, potentially leading to significant advancements in treatments for unmet medical needs.
- The CEO's statement emphasizes the strength of Oculis' financial position with a runway extending into early 2028, suggesting stability and the ability to focus on advancing its clinical portfolio.
- The company’s late-stage clinical pipeline includes highly differentiated candidates, which positions Oculis well for future growth in the biopharmaceutical sector focused on ophthalmic diseases.
Potential Negatives
- The amendment of the loan facility may signal financial vulnerability, as the company requires additional borrowing to support its operations and upcoming trials.
- The lack of drawn amounts from the loan at signing could indicate a lack of immediate financial need or a potential hesitance from the company to utilize the funds, raising questions about cash flow stability.
- Forward-looking statements in the release emphasize uncertainty and inherent risks, which could instill doubt among investors regarding the company's future performance and milestones.
FAQ
What is the Amended Loan Agreement with BlackRock?
Oculis announced an amended loan agreement with BlackRock, providing CHF 75 million borrowing capacity, potentially increasing to CHF 100 million.
How will the loan impact Oculis' operational strategy?
The loan offers financial flexibility to support regulatory discussions and clinical trial initiations, enhancing Oculis' operational strength and future plans.
What are Oculis' key upcoming milestones?
Key milestones include initiating trials for OCS-02 and OCS-05, and NDA filing for OCS-01 in late 2026, pending positive trial results.
What products are in Oculis' clinical pipeline?
Oculis' pipeline features OCS-01, Privosegtor (OCS-05), and Licaminlimab (OCS-02), targeting critical ophthalmic and neuro-ophthalmic diseases.
Where is Oculis headquartered?
Oculis is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, with operations extending to the U.S. and Iceland.
Disclaimer: This is an AI-generated summary of a press release distributed by GlobeNewswire. The model used to summarize this release may make mistakes. See the full release here.
$OCS Hedge Fund Activity
We have seen 18 institutional investors add shares of $OCS stock to their portfolio, and 2 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.
Here are some of the largest recent moves:
- PIVOTAL BIOVENTURE PARTNERS INVESTMENT ADVISOR LLC added 563,078 shares (+32.4%) to their portfolio in Q1 2025, for an estimated $10,715,374
- SR ONE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LP added 322,500 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q1 2025, for an estimated $6,137,175
- ALYESKA INVESTMENT GROUP, L.P. added 131,332 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q1 2025, for an estimated $2,499,247
- ACUTA CAPITAL PARTNERS, LLC added 125,000 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q1 2025, for an estimated $2,378,750
- NAN FUNG GROUP HOLDINGS LTD added 78,324 shares (+17.9%) to their portfolio in Q1 2025, for an estimated $1,490,505
- CITADEL ADVISORS LLC removed 22,911 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q1 2025, for an estimated $435,996
- XTX TOPCO LTD removed 13,249 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q1 2025, for an estimated $252,128
To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard.
$OCS Analyst Ratings
Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $OCS in the last several months. We have seen 3 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 firms issue sell ratings.
Here are some recent analyst ratings:
- Chardan Capital issued a "Buy" rating on 05/09/2025
- HC Wainwright & Co. issued a "Buy" rating on 04/17/2025
- Baird issued a "Outperform" rating on 03/13/2025
To track analyst ratings and price targets for $OCS, check out Quiver Quantitative's $OCS forecast page.
$OCS Price Targets
Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $OCS recently. We have seen 3 analysts offer price targets for $OCS in the last 6 months, with a median target of $33.0.
Here are some recent targets:
- Daniil Gataulin from Chardan Capital set a target price of $33.0 on 05/09/2025
- Yi Chen from HC Wainwright & Co. set a target price of $32.0 on 04/17/2025
- Colleen Kusy from Baird set a target price of $41.0 on 03/13/2025
Full Release
ZUG, Switzerland, Aug. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oculis Holding AG (Nasdaq: OCS; XICE: OCS) (“Oculis” or the “Company”), a global biopharmaceutical company focused on innovations addressing ophthalmic and neuro-ophthalmic diseases with significant unmet medical needs, today announced that it has amended its loan facility (the “Amended Loan Agreement”) with funds and accounts managed by BlackRock (the “Lender”).
The Amended Loan Agreement replaces the prior loan agreement between Oculis and the Lender dated May 29, 2024, and the upsized structure will provide CHF 75.0 million in borrowing capacity (which may be increased to up to CHF 100.0 million) (the “Loan”). The Loan comprises tranches 1, 2 and 3, in the amounts of CHF 25.0 million each, as well as an additional loan of up to CHF 25.0 million, which may be made available by the Lender to Oculis on mutually agreed terms. No amounts were drawn at signing.
Access to this additional capital offers significant financial flexibility beyond Oculis’ current cash reserves as the Company moves toward upcoming key milestones across all three core assets: regulatory discussions with the FDA on three indications investigated with Privosegtor (OCS-05) for acute optic neuritis, non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuritis (NAION), and treatment of acute relapses in multiple sclerosis (MS) during 2H 2025; initiation of Licaminlimab (OCS-02) Phase 2/3 trial for dry eye disease in 2H 2025; initiation of Privosegtor (OCS-05) Phase 2/3 trial for acute optic neuritis in 1H 2026; OCS-01 Phase 3 DIAMOND trials’ topline results in Q2 2026, and if positive, its first NDA filing in 2H 2026.
Riad Sherif, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Oculis , said, “We are pleased to have upsized our previous loan agreement with funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, which expands an instrument allowing enhanced flexibility to ensure the future financial and operational strength of Oculis. Our current robust cash position provides runway into early 2028, which is further strengthened by the loan facility, as we remain focused on advancing our portfolio of differentiated assets and bringing transformative treatments to those who need them most.”
About Oculis
Oculis is a global biopharmaceutical company (Nasdaq: OCS; XICE: OCS) focused on innovations addressing ophthalmic and neuro-ophthalmic conditions with significant unmet medical needs. Oculis’ highly differentiated late-stage clinical pipeline includes three core product candidates: OCS-01, an eye drop in pivotal registration studies, aiming to become the first non-invasive topical treatment for diabetic macular edema; Privosegtor (OCS-05), a first-in-class neuroprotective candidate in Phase 2 for acute optic neuritis, with potentially broad clinical applications in various neuro-ophthalmic and neurological diseases; and Licaminlimab (OCS-02), a novel, first-in-class topical anti-TNFα in Phase 2, being developed with a genotype-based approach to drive personalized medicine in dry eye disease (DED). Headquartered in Switzerland with operations in the U.S. and Iceland, Oculis is led by an experienced management team with a successful track record and supported by leading international healthcare investors.
For more information, please visit: www.oculis.com
Oculis Contacts
Ms. Sylvia Cheung, CFO
[email protected]
Investor Relations
LifeSci Advisors
Corey Davis, Ph.D.
[email protected]
Media Relations
ICR Healthcare
Amber Fennell / David Daley / Sean Leous
[email protected]
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements and information. For example, statements regarding the future drawdowns of the Loan, the expected use of proceeds from the Loan, the Company’s expected financial position and cash runway timing, the progress and results of current and future clinical trials, Oculis’ research and development programs, regulatory and business strategy, including planned interactions with the FDA; Oculis’ future development plans; and the timing or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals are forward-looking. All forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Oculis and its management, are inherently uncertain and are inherently subject to risks, variability, and contingencies, many of which are beyond Oculis’ control. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on by an investor as, a guarantee, assurance, prediction or definitive statement of a fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that we expected and/or those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of Oculis, including those outlined in the Risk Factors section of Oculis’ annual report on Form 20-F and any other documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Copies of these documents are available on the SEC’s website, www.sec.gov. Oculis undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law.