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

Optimum Communications, Inc. (NYSE:OPTU) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors bought 9,083 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 349% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,022 put options.

Optimum Communications Stock Performance

OPTU stock opened at $1.65 on Friday. Optimum Communications has a one year low of $0.58 and a one year high of $2.98. The firm has a market cap of $786.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.17 and a beta of 1.36. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.45.

Insider Activity at Optimum Communications

In related news, General Counsel Michael Olsen sold 20,000 shares of Optimum Communications stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $1,907,651.79. The trade was a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 60,000 shares of company stock worth $80,000 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 43.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Optimum Communications

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of OPTU. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in Optimum Communications in the first quarter worth $54,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Optimum Communications by 4.2% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,082,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 43,279 shares in the last quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Optimum Communications by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP now owns 1,230,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,600,000 after purchasing an additional 235,559 shares during the last quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Optimum Communications by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP now owns 6,573,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,546,000 after purchasing an additional 558,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Helix Partners Management LP boosted its position in shares of Optimum Communications by 36.0% in the 1st quarter. Helix Partners Management LP now owns 1,700,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,210,000 after purchasing an additional 450,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on OPTU. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Optimum Communications from $2.00 to $1.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Optimum Communications from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Optimum Communications from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Optimum Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Optimum Communications from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Optimum Communications has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $0.95.

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.