Ouster (NASDAQ:OUST) Shares Up 8.8% – Time to Buy?

Ouster, Inc. (NASDAQ:OUST)’s stock price shot up 8.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $38.10 and last traded at $38.6610. Approximately 1,797,784 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 3,286,353 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.53.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Roth Capital began coverage on shares of Ouster in a research note on Friday, May 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. Northland Securities set a $60.00 target price on shares of Ouster and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings initiated coverage on shares of Ouster in a report on Friday, May 15th. They set a “sell (d-)” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $57.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of Ouster in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ouster in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.67.

Ouster Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.22 and a beta of 3.17. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.03.

Ouster (NASDAQ:OUST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $48.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $46.15 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.42) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Ouster, Inc. will post -1.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Mark Frichtl sold 308,742 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.53, for a total value of $12,822,055.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer owned 294,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,248,193.72. This represents a 51.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Charles Angus Pacala sold 29,797 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.82, for a total transaction of $1,156,719.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,072,201 shares in the company, valued at $41,622,842.82. This trade represents a 2.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 749,354 shares of company stock valued at $28,542,907 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.72% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ouster

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bastion Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ouster in the 1st quarter valued at about $5,271,000. UBS Group AG grew its stake in Ouster by 67.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 301,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,524,000 after buying an additional 121,708 shares during the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS purchased a new position in Ouster during the 1st quarter worth approximately $704,000. Patten Group Inc. acquired a new position in Ouster during the first quarter worth approximately $212,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in Ouster by 130.7% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 715,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,479,000 after buying an additional 405,441 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.