Optimum Communications, Inc. (NYSE:OPTU) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Shares of Optimum Communications, Inc. (NYSE:OPTU) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $0.95.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on OPTU shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on Optimum Communications from $2.00 to $1.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Evercore set a $1.25 target price on Optimum Communications in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Optimum Communications from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Citigroup downgraded Optimum Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $1.50 to $0.50 in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Optimum Communications from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Friday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Michael Olsen sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.59, for a total transaction of $31,800.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 1,199,781 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,907,651.79. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 worth $80,000. Corporate insiders own 43.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Optimum Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Optimum Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $46,002,000. Empyrean Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in Optimum Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $41,297,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Optimum Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $27,135,000. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new stake in Optimum Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $24,478,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Optimum Communications by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,803,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,217,000 after buying an additional 879,589 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.85% of the company’s stock.

Optimum Communications Stock Performance

NYSE OPTU opened at $1.32 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $626.56 million, a P/E ratio of -0.13 and a beta of 1.36. Optimum Communications has a one year low of $0.58 and a one year high of $2.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.47.

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.