Ouster (NASDAQ:OUST) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Ouster, Inc. (NASDAQ:OUST)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday. The stock had previously closed at $44.91, but opened at $42.61. Ouster shares last traded at $42.4380, with a volume of 537,698 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on OUST shares. Northland Securities set a $60.00 target price on shares of Ouster and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $57.00 price target (up from $42.00) on shares of Ouster in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of Ouster in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ouster in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Citigroup reissued 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ouster has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.67.

Ouster Stock Down 8.4%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.00. The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of -48.11 and a beta of 3.23.

Ouster (NASDAQ:OUST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by ($0.14). Ouster had a negative net margin of 26.02% and a negative return on equity of 17.49%. The firm had revenue of $54.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $51.47 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Ouster, Inc. will post -1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ouster

In other Ouster news, CEO Charles Pacala sold 30,385 shares of Ouster stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.96, for a total transaction of $1,031,874.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,041,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,380,071.36. The trade was a 2.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kenneth P. Gianella sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.33, for a total transaction of $1,813,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 261,014 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,831,764.62. This trade represents a 13.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 173,037 shares of company stock valued at $6,720,238 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OUST. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Ouster by 50.3% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 79,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,459,000 after acquiring an additional 26,574 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Ouster in the first quarter worth $2,436,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Ouster by 7.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 483,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,889,000 after purchasing an additional 32,440 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in Ouster during the second quarter worth $2,172,000. Finally, Bastion Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Ouster during the first quarter valued at about $5,271,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 31.45% of the company’s stock.

About Ouster

Ouster, Inc is a technology company that develops lidar sensors and software for machine perception. Its digital lidar products use laser light to create three-dimensional representations of surrounding environments, helping machines detect objects, measure distances, and operate with greater situational awareness.

The company’s product portfolio includes lidar sensors for industrial automation, robotics, autonomous vehicles, transportation, mapping, and smart-infrastructure applications.