Optimum Communications, Inc. (NYSE:OPTU) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Optimum Communications, Inc. (NYSE:OPTU) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and six have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $0.95.

OPTU has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore set a $1.25 target price on Optimum Communications in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Barclays lowered their price target on Optimum Communications from $2.00 to $1.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered Optimum Communications from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Optimum Communications from $2.00 to $1.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Optimum Communications from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th.

Optimum Communications Price Performance

Optimum Communications stock traded up $0.00 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $0.76. The stock had a trading volume of 178,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,216,283. Optimum Communications has a twelve month low of $0.58 and a twelve month high of $2.79. The firm has a market cap of $363.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.08 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Optimum Communications

In other news, General Counsel Michael Olsen sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were 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 represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 60,000 shares of company stock valued at $71,800. 43.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OPTU. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in shares of Optimum Communications in the first quarter worth $54,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Optimum Communications by 4.2% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,082,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 43,279 shares in the last quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP increased its position in Optimum Communications by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. Readystate Asset Management LP now owns 1,230,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,600,000 after purchasing an additional 235,559 shares during the last quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP increased its position in Optimum Communications by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP now owns 6,573,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,546,000 after purchasing an additional 558,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Helix Partners Management LP raised its stake in shares of Optimum Communications by 36.0% during 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.