Optimum Communications (NYSE:OPTU) Shares Gap Down on Insider Selling

Optimum Communications, Inc. (NYSE:OPTU)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $1.50, but opened at $1.42. Optimum Communications shares last traded at $1.51, with a volume of 590,844 shares changing hands.

Specifically, General Counsel Michael Olsen sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.40, for a total transaction of $28,000.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 1,239,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,735,693.40. This represents a 1.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on OPTU. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Optimum Communications in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup cut shares of Optimum Communications from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 15th. Evercore set a $2.00 price target on shares of Optimum Communications in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Optimum Communications from $3.00 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Benchmark downgraded Optimum Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Optimum Communications has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $2.19.

Optimum Communications Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $705.69 million, a PE ratio of -0.38 and a beta of 1.51. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.99.

Optimum Communications (NYSE:OPTU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.12) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Optimum Communications, Inc. will post -0.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Optimum Communications

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OPTU. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Optimum Communications during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Optimum Communications in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in Optimum Communications during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Optimum Communications in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Xponance LLC acquired a new position in Optimum Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.85% of the company’s stock.

Optimum Communications Company Profile

Altice USA, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides broadband communications and video services in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. It offers broadband, video, telephony, and mobile services to approximately five million residential and business customers. The company’s video services include delivery of broadcast stations and cable networks; over the top services; video-on-demand, high-definition channels, digital video recorder, and pay-per-view services; and platforms for video programming through mobile applications.