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 after an insider sold shares in the company. 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 changing hands.

Specifically, Director Alt S.A.R.L. Next sold 805,230 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at $320,796,189. This trade represents a 5.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Alt S.A.R.L. Next sold 805,230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 14,704,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,252,459. This represents a 5.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ATUS. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Altice USA from $6.00 to $3.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Altice USA from $2.50 to $3.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Altice USA presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.30.

Altice USA Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $2.50 and its 200-day moving average is $2.21.

Altice USA (NYSE:ATUS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.15 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Altice USA, Inc. will post -0.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altice USA

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $11,566,000 after purchasing an additional 24,501 shares during the last quarter. Cerberus Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Altice USA by 6.8% during the third quarter. Cerberus Capital Management L.P. now owns 3,940,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,694,000 after purchasing an additional 250,000 shares in the last quarter. 140 Summer Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Altice USA during the third quarter valued at approximately $9,004,000. LMR Partners LLP boosted its position in shares of Altice USA by 217.5% in the 3rd quarter. LMR Partners LLP now owns 3,000,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,380,000 after purchasing an additional 2,055,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Altice USA by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,682,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,602,000 after buying an additional 191,508 shares during the last quarter. 54.85% of the stock is currently owned by 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.