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

Shares of Optimum Communications, Inc. (NYSE:OPTU) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $1.18, but opened at $1.10. Optimum Communications shares last traded at $1.1750, with a volume of 1,835,754 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on OPTU. Weiss Ratings upgraded Optimum Communications from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Optimum Communications from $2.00 to $1.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Evercore set a $1.25 price objective on shares of Optimum Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. UBS Group lowered their price target 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, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $1.00 price target on shares of Optimum Communications in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Optimum Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $0.95.

Optimum Communications Stock Up 8.9%

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $1.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $612.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.13 and a beta of 1.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Michael Olsen sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The trade was a 1.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 60,000 shares of company stock valued at $71,800. 43.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Optimum Communications during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,002,000. Empyrean Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in Optimum Communications in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,297,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Optimum Communications during the fourth quarter worth $27,135,000. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in Optimum Communications during the fourth quarter worth $24,478,000. Finally, Redwood Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Optimum Communications during the fourth quarter worth $13,512,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.85% of the company’s stock.

About Optimum Communications

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.