Optimum Communications (NYSE:OPTU) Cut to Strong Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Optimum Communications (NYSE:OPTU) from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a research note released on Sunday morning.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Optimum Communications from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Optimum Communications from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Citigroup cut shares of Optimum Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $1.50 to $0.50 in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Evercore set a $1.25 price target on shares of Optimum Communications in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Optimum Communications from $2.00 to $1.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Optimum Communications has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $0.95.

Optimum Communications Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE OPTU opened at $0.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $363.83 million, a P/E ratio of -0.08 and a beta of 1.15. Optimum Communications has a 1 year low of $0.58 and a 1 year high of $2.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.34.

Insider Activity at Optimum Communications

In other news, General Counsel Michael Olsen sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the general counsel owned 1,199,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,907,651.79. This trade represents a 1.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 60,000 shares of company stock valued at $71,800. Company insiders own 43.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OPTU. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Optimum Communications in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Optimum Communications in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Morningstar Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Optimum Communications during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in shares of Optimum Communications during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Xponance LLC purchased a new position in shares of Optimum Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 54.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Optimum Communications

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.