OIS Index Hits New Highs; Two New Companies Added

The OIS Index stayed in four-digit territory in June, finishing the month at 1,017 and again outperforming its stock market benchmarks. The OIS Index gained 2.1% during the month, while the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index declined by 0.9%; the overall US stock market, as measured by the Russell 3000 Index, declined by 0.1%; and a composite of US medical device stocks gained 0.5%. Despite the overall positive performance of the OIS Index in June, declining stocks outnumbered advancing stocks 20 to 13.

June’s Standout Stocks

Two stocks stood out as the primary contributors to OIS Index performance in June: Aerie Pharmaceuticals (+2.1% contribution to index performance, stock up 32.1%) and ThromboGenics (+1.1% contribution to index performance, stock up 45.9%). However, neither company released any news on or about June 1, when both stocks began trading sharply upward.

Other top performers during June, but with a smaller impact on the OIS Index due to lower weighting, included Alimera Sciences (+16%), Nightstar Therapeutics (+13.9%), and Opthea Ltd. (+12.2%).

Month’s Decliners

For the largest decliners within the index over the past month, there was also an absence of major news announcements timed to downward stock movements. The largest decliners in June were Eyenovia (–21.3%), Second Sight Medical Products (–17.7%), EyePoint Pharmaceuticals (–14.3%), and Molecular Partners (–14%).

Quarterly Rebalancing

With the July 1 quarterly rebalancing of the OIS Index, two companies have been added to the index, bringing the total number of companies to 35. MeiraGTx is a clinical-stage gene therapy company with four ongoing Phase I/II clinical programs, including three in ophthalmology addressing retinal diseases. The company raised $75 million in its initial public offering (IPO) in June.

Unity Biotechnology is developing therapies intended to selectively eliminate senescent cells to address age-associated disease. The company, which raised $85 million in its May IPO, plans to commence a Phase I study in an ophthalmologic indication in the second half of 2019.

The OIS Index is a composite of ophthalmic growth stocks that tracks the investment performance of our sector. Our goal is to highlight ophthalmology investment performance, both in absolute terms and in comparison with broader biotech and medical device industries, as well as the overall stock market. The OIS Index was launched with an initial value of 1,000 on October 1, 2016; as of June 28, 2018, the OIS Index stood at 1,017.20.

Michael Lachman can be reached at Michael@EyeQResearch.com.