Optimum Communications, Inc. (NYSE:OPTU) Short Interest Update

Optimum Communications, Inc. (NYSE:OPTU) saw a significant decrease in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 25,009,311 shares, a decrease of 34.3% from the June 15th total of 38,091,231 shares. Currently, 9.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 17,530,677 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Insider Activity at Optimum Communications

In related news, General Counsel Michael Olsen sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.59, for a total transaction of $31,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 60,000 shares of company stock worth $71,800 over the last three months. Company insiders own 43.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Optimum Communications

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of OPTU. Vanguard Group Inc. bought a new position in Optimum Communications in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,002,000. Empyrean Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Optimum Communications during the fourth quarter worth $41,297,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Optimum Communications in the fourth quarter valued at $27,135,000. Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Optimum Communications during the 4th quarter valued at $24,478,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Optimum Communications by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,803,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,217,000 after purchasing an additional 879,589 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 54.85% of the company’s stock.

Optimum Communications Stock Performance

OPTU stock opened at $0.87 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1.07 and a 200-day moving average of $1.39. Optimum Communications has a fifty-two week low of $0.58 and a fifty-two week high of $2.98. The company has a market capitalization of $412.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.09 and a beta of 1.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OPTU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on Optimum Communications from $2.00 to $1.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Optimum Communications from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $1.00 price objective on shares of Optimum Communications in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Evercore set a $1.25 target price on shares of Optimum Communications in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Optimum Communications from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $1.50 to $0.50 in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Optimum Communications presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $0.95.

Optimum Communications Company Profile

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.