Altice USA (NYSE:ATUS) Shares Gap Down After Insider Selling

Shares of Altice USA, Inc. (NYSE:ATUS) gapped down before the market opened on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $2.61, but opened at $2.55. Altice USA shares last traded at $2.56, with a volume of 77,549 shares trading hands.

Specifically, Director Alt S.A.R.L. Next sold 805,230 shares of Altice USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.50, for a total transaction of $19,728,135.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,093,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $320,796,189. The trade was a 5.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Alt S.A.R.L. Next sold 805,230 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.50, for a total value of $19,728,135.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,704,182 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,252,459. This trade represents a 5.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Altice USA from $2.50 to $3.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Altice USA from $6.00 to $3.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.30.

Altice USA Price Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $2.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.21.

Altice USA (NYSE:ATUS) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. Altice USA had a negative net margin of 1.85% and a negative return on equity of 1.54%. Altice USA’s revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.15 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Altice USA, Inc. will post -0.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATUS. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Altice USA by 0.4% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,669,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,566,000 after buying an additional 24,501 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Altice USA during the second quarter worth about $25,000. XTX Topco Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Altice USA by 112.1% during the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 81,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 42,975 shares in the last quarter. King Street Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Altice USA in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,100,000. Finally, Aristeia Capital L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Altice USA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $657,000. 54.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Altice USA 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 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.