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

Optimum Communications, Inc. (NYSE:OPTU) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $1.13, but opened at $1.08. Optimum Communications shares last traded at $1.1050, with a volume of 810,755 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on OPTU. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $1.00 price objective on shares of Optimum Communications in a research report on Friday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Optimum Communications from $1.90 to $1.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Optimum Communications from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Raymond James Financial downgraded Optimum Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Optimum Communications from $2.00 to $1.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $1.38.

Optimum Communications Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $1.44 and a 200 day moving average of $1.68. The stock has a market cap of $515.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.11 and a beta of 1.56.

Optimum Communications (NYSE:OPTU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.14). During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.12) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Optimum Communications, Inc. will post -0.51 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 1,199,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,907,651.79. This trade represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The transaction 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 310,000 shares of company stock worth $485,600. Company insiders own 44.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Optimum Communications

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OPTU. Vanguard Group Inc. acquired a new position in Optimum Communications during the 4th quarter worth $46,002,000. Empyrean Capital Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Optimum Communications during the fourth quarter worth $41,297,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Optimum Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $27,135,000. Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Optimum Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $24,478,000. Finally, Redwood Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Optimum Communications during the fourth quarter worth about $13,512,000. Institutional investors 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.