Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Ouster (NYSE:OUST)

Ouster, Inc. (NYSE:OUST) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders bought 2,205 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 51% compared to the average volume of 1,456 call options.

Ouster Price Performance

Ouster stock traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $11.11. 1,143,099 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,182,731. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $8.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $552.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.32 and a beta of 2.50. Ouster has a 1 year low of $4.65 and a 1 year high of $16.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at Ouster

In related news, COO Darien Spencer sold 14,869 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.69, for a total value of $144,080.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 291,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,826,747.42. This represents a 4.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Mark Frichtl bought 5,045 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $9.78 per share, for a total transaction of $49,340.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief technology officer now owns 513,121 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,323.38. This represents a 0.99 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 80,415 shares of company stock worth $748,620. Insiders own 7.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Ouster during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new position in Ouster in the second quarter valued at $56,000. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ouster in the second quarter worth about $101,000. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ouster during the 3rd quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, True North Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ouster in the 3rd quarter valued at about $78,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 31.45% of the company’s stock.

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.