Ouster (NASDAQ:OUST) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Ouster, Inc. (NASDAQ:OUST) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $35.87, but opened at $37.64. Ouster shares last traded at $36.4890, with a volume of 501,953 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on OUST shares. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Ouster in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ouster in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Roth Capital began coverage on shares of Ouster in a research report on Friday, May 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Ouster in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ouster in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.67.

Ouster Trading Up 1.2%

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.42. The company has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -42.18 and a beta of 3.24.

Ouster (NASDAQ:OUST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by ($0.14). Ouster had a negative net margin of 26.02% and a negative return on equity of 17.49%. The business had revenue of $54.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.47 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ouster, Inc. will post -1.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ouster

In other news, CFO Kenneth P. Gianella sold 54,337 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.82, for a total value of $2,109,362.34. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 301,014 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,685,363.48. This represents a 15.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Charles Angus Pacala sold 29,797 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.82, for a total transaction of $1,156,719.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,072,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,622,842.82. This represents a 2.70% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 160,829 shares of company stock valued at $6,736,649. Corporate insiders own 5.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ouster

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OUST. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Ouster by 6,016.8% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,856,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,647,000 after acquiring an additional 4,777,403 shares during the period. AlphaGrep UK Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ouster during the second quarter worth approximately $498,000. FirstWave Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ouster during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,879,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its holdings in Ouster by 115.8% during the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 6,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 3,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ouster by 195.7% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC now owns 1,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 31.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ouster

Ouster, Inc is a leading provider of high-resolution digital lidar sensors, software and services designed to enable advanced perception capabilities across a range of industries. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, the company develops modular lidar solutions that capture precise three-dimensional data in real time, supporting applications from autonomous vehicles and robotics to mapping, smart infrastructure and industrial automation.

The company’s core product lineup features multi-beam digital lidar units available in various form factors, including compact models for robotics and drones and larger units for automotive and mapping systems.