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

Shares of Ouster, Inc. (NASDAQ:OUST) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $35.87, but opened at $37.64. Ouster shares last traded at $36.4890, with a volume of 501,953 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on OUST shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Ouster from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ouster in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Ouster in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Northland Securities set a $60.00 price objective on Ouster and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ouster in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.67.

Ouster Trading Down 5.3%

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.55. The firm has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -40.26 and a beta of 3.24.

Ouster (NASDAQ:OUST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.12) by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $54.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.47 million. Ouster had a negative return on equity of 17.49% and a negative net margin of 26.02%. As a group, research analysts expect that Ouster, Inc. will post -1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Kenneth P. Gianella sold 54,337 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.82, for a total transaction of $2,109,362.34. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 301,014 shares in the company, valued at $11,685,363.48. This represents a 15.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Stephen A. Skaggs sold 3,614 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.18, for a total transaction of $163,280.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 61,415 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,774,729.70. The trade was a 5.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 160,829 shares of company stock worth $6,736,649 over the last quarter. Insiders own 5.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of OUST. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Ouster by 50.3% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 79,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,459,000 after buying an additional 26,574 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Ouster during the first quarter valued at $2,436,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Ouster by 7.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 483,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,889,000 after buying an additional 32,440 shares in the last quarter. Bastion Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ouster during the first quarter worth about $5,271,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Ouster by 706.0% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 177,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,268,000 after acquiring an additional 155,825 shares during the last quarter. 31.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Ouster

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.