Ouster (NASDAQ:OUST) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Ouster, Inc. (NASDAQ:OUST) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $39.01, but opened at $37.26. Ouster shares last traded at $41.5250, with a volume of 1,170,187 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on OUST. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ouster in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings initiated coverage on Ouster in a research report on Friday, May 15th. They set a “sell (d-)” rating for the company. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on shares of Ouster from $40.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Ouster in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Ouster from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.67.

Ouster Trading Up 12.6%

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $42.77 and its 200-day moving average is $30.30. The company has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -49.32 and a beta of 3.24.

Ouster (NASDAQ:OUST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by ($0.16). Ouster had a negative return on equity of 21.49% and a negative net margin of 30.12%.The firm had revenue of $48.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $46.15 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.42) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ouster, Inc. will post -1.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Darien Spencer sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $1,350,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 342,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,406,470. This trade represents a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ted L. Tewksbury III sold 1,695 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.00, for a total value of $79,665.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 124,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,874,953. This represents a 1.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 709,754 shares of company stock worth $27,352,157 in the last three months. 5.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ouster by 1,521.8% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 571,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,863,000 after acquiring an additional 536,413 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Ouster during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $8,915,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Ouster by 130.7% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 715,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,479,000 after buying an additional 405,441 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in shares of Ouster by 517.5% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 401,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,693,000 after acquiring an additional 336,673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bastion Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ouster during the first quarter valued at $5,271,000. Institutional investors own 31.45% of the company’s stock.

Ouster Company Profile

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.