Optimum Communications (NYSE:OPTU) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Optimum Communications, Inc. (NYSE:OPTU) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 8,521,840 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 63% from the previous session’s volume of 5,233,411 shares.The stock last traded at $1.4650 and had previously closed at $1.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OPTU has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup cut Optimum Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $1.50 to $0.50 in a research note on Friday, May 15th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Optimum Communications from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Optimum Communications from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Optimum Communications from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Optimum Communications from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Optimum Communications has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $0.95.

Optimum Communications Stock Up 5.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $676.59 million, a P/E ratio of -0.14 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.45.

Insider Transactions at Optimum Communications

In other news, General Counsel Michael Olsen sold 20,000 shares of Optimum Communications 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 in the company, valued at $1,907,651.79. The trade was a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 60,000 shares of company stock worth $80,000. 43.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OPTU. 140 Summer Partners LP purchased a new stake in Optimum Communications during the 3rd quarter valued at $7,615,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Optimum Communications by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,803,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,217,000 after buying an additional 879,589 shares during the last quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Optimum Communications by 42.3% in the 3rd quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP now owns 5,768,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,903,000 after buying an additional 1,715,073 shares during the last quarter. Cerberus Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Optimum Communications in the 4th quarter worth $6,502,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Optimum Communications in the fourth quarter worth $46,002,000. Institutional investors 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.