Optimum Communications (NYSE:OPTU) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Optimum Communications, Inc. (NYSE:OPTU)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $1.61, but opened at $1.55. Optimum Communications shares last traded at $1.70, with a volume of 5,228,098 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on OPTU. Citigroup downgraded Optimum Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $1.50 to $0.50 in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered Optimum Communications from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings cut Optimum Communications from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Optimum Communications from $2.00 to $1.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Evercore set a $1.25 price objective on Optimum Communications in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Optimum Communications presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $0.95.

Optimum Communications Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $786.18 million, a P/E ratio of -0.17 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.45.

Insider Transactions at Optimum Communications

In related news, General Counsel Michael Olsen sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 1,199,781 shares in the company, valued at $1,907,651.79. The trade was a 1.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 60,000 shares of company stock worth $80,000. 43.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Optimum Communications

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in OPTU. Vanguard Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Optimum Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,002,000. Empyrean Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in Optimum Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $41,297,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Optimum Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $27,135,000. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in Optimum Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $24,478,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Optimum Communications by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,803,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,217,000 after purchasing an additional 879,589 shares during the period. 54.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.