Optimum Communications, Inc. (NYSE:OPTU) Short Interest Down 34.3% in June

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

Optimum Communications Price Performance

NYSE OPTU opened at $0.90 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.39. Optimum Communications has a 52-week low of $0.58 and a 52-week high of $2.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $426.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.09 and a beta of 1.15.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on OPTU. UBS Group cut their target price 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded Optimum Communications from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research upgraded Optimum Communications from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. BNP Paribas Exane raised Optimum Communications from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $1.00 target price on Optimum Communications in a report on Friday, May 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Optimum Communications presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $0.95.

Insider Activity at Optimum Communications

In related news, General Counsel Michael Olsen sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 60,000 shares of company stock worth $71,800 in the last quarter. 43.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Optimum Communications

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Optimum Communications by 365.8% in the first 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 last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 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 during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Optimum Communications by 10.5% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 5,516,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,673,000 after purchasing an additional 524,169 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $17,016,000 after purchasing an additional 2,031,971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in Optimum Communications in the first quarter valued at about $88,000. 54.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.