Ouster (NASDAQ:OUST) Stock Price Up 14.4% – Time to Buy?

Ouster, Inc. (NASDAQ:OUST) shot up 14.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $46.83 and last traded at $46.57. Approximately 8,255,157 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 179% from the average daily volume of 2,962,231 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OUST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm started coverage on Ouster in a report on Friday, May 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price objective on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Ouster from $40.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings started coverage on Ouster in a report on Friday, May 15th. They issued a “sell (d-)” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Ouster from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Ouster in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.17.

Ouster Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -48.01 and a beta of 3.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $33.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.06.

Ouster (NASDAQ:OUST) last released 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 firm had revenue of $48.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $46.15 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.42) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ouster, Inc. will post -1.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Darien Spencer sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $1,350,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 342,366 shares in the company, valued at $15,406,470. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Mark Frichtl sold 308,742 shares of Ouster stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.53, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 948,896 shares of company stock valued at $33,336,715 in the last ninety days. 5.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ouster

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ouster by 610.1% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 296,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,661,000 after purchasing an additional 254,580 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ouster by 7.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 28,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 2,037 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Ouster by 138.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 9,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 5,796 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ouster by 22.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 63,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,535,000 after purchasing an additional 11,416 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Ouster by 1,521.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 571,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,863,000 after buying an additional 536,413 shares during the last quarter. 31.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.