Optimum Communications (NYSE:OPTU) Shares Up 9.5% – Still a Buy?

Optimum Communications, Inc. (NYSE:OPTU) shot up 9.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $1.70 and last traded at $1.6750. 639,155 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 2,259,063 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.53.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on OPTU shares. Evercore ISI set a $2.50 target price on Optimum Communications in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Optimum Communications from $3.00 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of Optimum Communications from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Optimum Communications from $3.25 to $2.75 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Optimum Communications in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $2.55.

Optimum Communications Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $1.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.13. The company has a market cap of $751.73 million, a P/E ratio of -0.40 and a beta of 1.51.

Optimum Communications (NYSE:OPTU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($3.47) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($3.43). The business had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.09) EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Optimum Communications, Inc. will post -0.24 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Optimum Communications in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,002,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Optimum Communications by 114.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,052,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,953,000 after buying an additional 3,233,449 shares during the last quarter. 140 Summer Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Optimum Communications in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,615,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Optimum Communications by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 11,463,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,628,000 after acquiring an additional 2,711,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $17,016,000 after acquiring an additional 2,031,971 shares in the last quarter. 54.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.