How to Buy Ocugen Shares UK – with 0% Commission

The coronavirus pandemic has been the biggest event globally of 2020. In less than one year, 1.8 million people died from the Covid-19 pandemic, and more than 82 million were infected with the virus. To end the pandemic as soon as possible, many companies around the world have been working at great speed to develop Covid-19-related solutions.

One such company that is involved in producing a covid-19 vaccine is Ocugen, a small biopharmaceutical company with a market cap of around 300mn that has recently announced its plans to commercialize and develop a Covid-19 vaccine. Since then, the Ocugen stock soared by more than 750% and is attracting big attention from investors.

So, if you are based in the UK and looking to buy shares of Ocugen, this guide is for you. We’ll analyze the company and its historical share price performance, and help you find the best UK stockbroker that offers shares of Ocugen. 

How to Buy Ocugen Shares in the UK – with 0% Commission

As Ocugen is a US-based company, it trades on the NASDAQ stock exchange in the US under the ticker symbol OCGN. This means that in order to buy shares of Ocugen, you will first need to find an online brokerage firm that offers you to buy shares of this biotech firm. As Ocugen is a relatively small and not widely covered stock, not all brokerage firms in the UK will allow you to trade its shares.

To help you find the broker, below we suggest two of the best UK stockbrokers that provide you with access to Ocugen shares.

1. Fineco Bank – Professional Share Trading Platform 

Fineco Bank is our top pick broker for traders that are looking for a professional trading platform. This platform offers trading on thousands of shares and other assets such as currency pairs, ETFs, digital assets, CFDs, bonds, and options. Instead, the broker charges a fixed dealing commission of just $3.95 (about £2.95), which is considered low among other share dealing platforms in the UK.

One of the key features of Fineco Bank is its trading platform, the PowerDesk. This platform is ideal for any active day trader and those who want to get access to a top-notch charting package and ultra-fast market order execution. The platform also has dozens of technical analysis indicators, a built-in news feed, and a stock screener that allows you to view shares from various exchanges across the globe.

The FCA regulated broker maintains a minimum deposit requirement of just £100 to get started. To get familiar with the platform, Fineco also offers potential users to open a demo account to test the platform and get used to the broker trading terms before risking real capital.

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Step 2: Research Ocugen Shares

Even though Ocugen’s share price has been on an incredible run in the last week, it is still important to get familiar with the company’s background and get more information about its financial status and share price performance. With that in mind, let’s take a close look at this company’s fundamentals, share price history, and outlook.

What is Ocugen?

Founded in 2013, Ocugen is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on therapies for blindness diseases. The company is working on several therapies that include treatment of inherited retinal disorders, treatment of dry age-related macular degeneration, and treatment of neovascular disorders. In late December 2020, Ocugen entered into an arrangement with Bharat Biotech to develop a vaccine for the Covid-19 disease.

Ocugen is located in Malvern, Pennsylvania 19355, US, and has around 50 employees.

How Much Are Ocugen Shares Worth? Ocugen Share Price History

Ocugen was founded in Pennsylvania, United States in 2013 and its shares started trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange in 2014. However, in September 2019 the company has announced a merger with Histogenics Corporation and authorised the reverse split of 60 shares to 1. Following the merger, shares of Ocugen continued to drop in most parts of 2020, reaching the bottom level of $0.21 per share in July 2020.

The Ocugen share price was trading around these levels until late December when the biotech firm announced its plans to co-developing a new Covid-19 vaccine with Bharat Biotech, an India-based firm. Since then, Ocugen shares soared from $0.29 in December 21 to $2.6 on December 23, a nearly 900% increase in value. The stock then dropped to around $2 per share on reports that Ocugen partner for developing Covid-19 vaccine, Bharat Biotech, used Covid protection as an incentive to draw volunteers, and thus, raised concerns about the legitimacy of the vaccine trials.

Nevertheless, Ocugen holds the right to distribute the Covaxin in the United States. This was the catalyst for the strong momentum that has been building over the last days. Additionally, the company is expected to adjourn the annual meeting of shareholders on January 13, 2021. In the meeting, it will announce the issue of 400,000 new shares that was lowered from the previous plan of 500,000 shares.

Ocugen Share Fundamentals – Market Cap, P/E Ratio and EPS

At the current share price, Ocugen has a market capitalisation of nearly $300mn. This makes Ocugen a penny stock according to the definition of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

It has an estimated PE ratio of -7.04, which represents a PE growth of 81% in 2020. The forecast PE growth for the next year currently stands at 62%.

Ocugen has reported an EPS of -0.07 in September. The consensus yearly EPS forecast for 2020 currently stands at -0.28.

Ocugen Shares Dividend Information

As expected with a company in the size and stage of Ocugen, it does not currently pay dividends to shareholders. Looking ahead, it’s not likely that Ocugen will announce a dividend payout in the next 1-3 years.

Should I Buy Ocugen Shares?

Ocugen share price recently had some momentum working in its favor. The increase of nearly 900% over just 1 week is something that cannot be ignored. Moreover, the huge increase of Ocugen shares volume is a strong indication of a bullish trend. With that in mind, no one wants to put all eggs in one basket. Ocugen’s Covid-19 vaccine could still fail, and as such, it’s crucial to analyze the company’s chances to success and its key strengths.

Ocugen Will Have Rights to Distribute Covaxine in the United States

The main reason for the spike in Ocugen share price was the announcement in late December to co-develop a new Covid-19 vaccine with Bharat Biotech. And, though Pfizer and Moderna are leading the pack for the distribution of the vaccine in the US, Ocugen could still be a major distributor as the demand for the coronavirus vaccine remains high.

The Covaxine is currently in a late-stage trial in India after the vaccine has already shown robust results in Phase I trials. According to reports, Ocugen is expected to meet the FDA in the next weeks to discuss the progress of the Covaxine.

Looking ahead, if Ocugen and Bharat obtain approval for the Covaxine, it will be a huge step for the small US biotech company. And, as expected in this case, the Ocugen share price could rise further from current levels.

The Ocugen Pipeline of Treatments

At present, analysts focus on the deal of Bharat and Ocugen to develop a Covid-19 vaccine, however, Ocugen has an interesting pipeline of therapies to treat blindness diseases. These include the OCU400, a treatment of inherited retinal disorders, the OCU410, the treatment of Dry age-related macular degeneration, and the OCU200, which is a treatment of neovascular disorders.

Notably, all treatments from Ocugen are in the pre-clinical stage and are not expected to get approval in the next year. But, if the company succeeds to make a progress in the upcoming years in one of its treatments, the Ocugen stock could get a string boost up.

Ocugen Increased its Cash Balance

Ocugen is not yet a profitable company, nor has any products to sell right now. However, it appears that the company’s management has made some effort in the past year to increase its cash reserves. In the third quarter of 2020, Ocugen offered an aggregate of 27 million shares, generating net proceeds of $10.1 million. Overall, its total cash reserves stand at $19.3mn as of September 30, 2020, compared to $7.6 million in the end of the previous year.

Another crucial factor is the decision to postpone its annual meeting of shareholders to January 13, 2021. As previously noted, the company’s board is expected to amend the number of new shares offered to the public from 500,000 to 400,000.

Ocugen Shares: Buy or Sell?

Putting aside the Ocugen Covid-19 vaccine, it is not very likely that we would cover nor recommend this stock. But right now, the coronavirus pandemic is the biggest concern in the world, and as such, every company that offers a solution for the disease becomes an attractive long term investment. At present, the short-term success of Ocugen highly depends on its Covid-19 vaccine, while the long-term outlook will continue to depend on the three treatments in its pipeline for various forms of blindness.

Overall, there’s a reason for optimism here. Even though Ocugen remains a small biotech company and remains a risky investment, its balance sheet is in good shape and any approval from the FDA could push the biotech stock price even higher. As such, we see a great opportunity and a certain level of risk going both ways when investing in Ocugen. If you are thinking of buying OIcugen shares, we think it’s worth considering a small investment with a risk-reward ratio of around 1:5.

The Verdict

Recently, Ocugen Inc has joined the race to co-develop an effective Covid-19 vaccine that might end this horrible pandemic. According to the agreement with its partner, Bharat Biotech, Ocugen will have US rights to the vaccine candidate, known as Covaxine. Consequently, the Ocugen share price skyrocketed by nearly 900%, and in the past week, it has become one of the most desirable stocks in the market. While there’s some risk in buying a penny stock like Ocugen, it could also be an under the radar bargain at its current levels.

If you ready to buy Ocugen shares right now, simply click the link below to get started!

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