Short Interest in Optimum Communications, Inc. (NYSE:OPTU) Declines By 34.3%

Optimum Communications, Inc. (NYSE:OPTU) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 25,009,311 shares, a decline of 34.3% from the June 15th total of 38,091,231 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 17,530,677 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Currently, 9.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Optimum Communications

In related news, General Counsel Michael Olsen sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.59, for a total transaction of $31,800.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 1,199,781 shares in the company, valued at $1,907,651.79. This trade represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,000 shares of company stock valued at $71,800. 43.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Optimum Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Optimum Communications by 365.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,171,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,775,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704,908 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Optimum Communications by 4.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 806,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,146,000 after purchasing an additional 36,260 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Optimum Communications by 10.5% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 5,516,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,673,000 after purchasing an additional 524,169 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Optimum Communications by 46.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,397,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,016,000 after purchasing an additional 2,031,971 shares during the period. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in Optimum Communications in the 1st quarter valued at about $88,000. Institutional investors own 54.85% of the company’s stock.

Optimum Communications Stock Performance

Optimum Communications stock opened at $0.87 on Friday. Optimum Communications has a one year low of $0.58 and a one year high of $2.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $412.19 million, a P/E ratio of -0.09 and a beta of 1.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on OPTU shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Optimum Communications from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Optimum Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $1.50 to $0.50 in a research report on Friday, May 15th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Optimum Communications from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Optimum Communications from $2.00 to $1.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Optimum Communications from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $0.95.

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.