Investors Buy High Volume of Ouster Call Options (NYSE:OUST)

Ouster, Inc. (NYSE:OUST) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 2,205 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 51% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,456 call options.

Ouster Stock Performance

OUST stock opened at $11.98 on Friday. Ouster has a one year low of $4.65 and a one year high of $16.88. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $8.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.19. The company has a market capitalization of $596.26 million, a PE ratio of -4.66 and a beta of 2.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Charles Angus Pacala bought 50,954 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $9.79 per share, for a total transaction of $498,839.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 769,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,537,879.03. This trade represents a 7.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mark Weinswig sold 31,397 shares of Ouster stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.72, for a total value of $273,781.84. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 198,650 shares in the company, valued at $1,732,228. This trade represents a 13.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 80,415 shares of company stock valued at $748,620. Insiders own 7.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ouster

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Ouster during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Ouster by 28.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608 shares in the last quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Ouster during the third quarter valued at $67,000. True North Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ouster in the 3rd quarter worth $78,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ouster in the 3rd quarter worth about $81,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 31.45% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on OUST. Northland Capmk raised Ouster to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Ouster from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $12.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Northland Securities initiated coverage on shares of Ouster in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Ouster in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.17.

Ouster Company Profile

Ouster, Inc provides lidar sensors for the automotive, industrial, robotics, and smart infrastructure industries in Americas, the Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Its products include high-resolution scanning and solid-state digital lidar sensors, analog lidar sensors, and software solutions.