Optimum Communications Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:OPTU)

Optimum Communications, Inc. (NYSE:OPTU) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 6,196 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 271% compared to the typical volume of 1,672 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on OPTU. Wall Street Zen downgraded Optimum Communications from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Raymond James Financial cut Optimum Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Optimum Communications from $2.00 to $1.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Optimum Communications from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $1.00 target price on shares of Optimum Communications in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Optimum Communications presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $0.95.

Optimum Communications Price Performance

Shares of Optimum Communications stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $1.47. The company had a trading volume of 8,521,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,233,411. The firm has a market cap of $698.03 million, a PE ratio of -0.15 and a beta of 1.37. Optimum Communications has a one year low of $0.58 and a one year high of $2.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Optimum Communications 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 value 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 60,000 shares of company stock worth $80,000 over the last three months. 43.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new position in Optimum Communications during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,002,000. Empyrean Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in Optimum Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,297,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Optimum Communications during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,135,000. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in Optimum Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $24,478,000. Finally, Redwood Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Optimum Communications during the 4th quarter worth approximately $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.