Optimum Communications (NYSE:OPTU) Major Shareholder Acquires 535,191 Shares

Optimum Communications, Inc. (NYSE:OPTU) major shareholder Neil Subin acquired 535,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $0.85 per share, for a total transaction of $454,912.35. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 19,377,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,470,618.30. This trade represents a 2.84% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Optimum Communications Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE OPTU traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $1.01. 1,474,975 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,295,386. The company has a market capitalization of $276.66 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.10 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $1.20. Optimum Communications, Inc. has a twelve month low of $0.58 and a twelve month high of $2.79.

Optimum Communications (NYSE:OPTU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.67) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.17) by ($0.50). The company had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Optimum Communications, Inc. will post -0.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Optimum Communications

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Optimum Communications by 365.8% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,171,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,775,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704,908 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Optimum Communications by 4.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 806,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,146,000 after buying an additional 36,260 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Optimum Communications by 10.5% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 5,516,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,673,000 after buying an additional 524,169 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Optimum Communications by 46.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,397,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,016,000 after buying an additional 2,031,971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in Optimum Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in 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 note on Thursday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $1.00 price target on Optimum Communications in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup downgraded Optimum Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $1.50 to $0.50 in a report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Optimum Communications from $2.00 to $1.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Optimum Communications from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Optimum Communications presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $0.92.

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.