Ouster (NYSE:OUST) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Ouster, Inc. (NYSE:OUST) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $10.72, but opened at $11.07. Ouster shares last traded at $10.95, with a volume of 148,814 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

OUST has been the subject of several research reports. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Ouster in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Northland Capmk upgraded Ouster to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Northland Securities assumed coverage on Ouster in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Ouster from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $12.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $13.17.

Ouster Trading Down 2.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $520.59 million, a PE ratio of -4.07 and a beta of 2.39. The company’s 50 day moving average is $10.87 and its 200-day moving average is $9.46.

Ouster (NYSE:OUST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported ($0.54) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $28.08 million for the quarter. Ouster had a negative return on equity of 65.17% and a negative net margin of 106.50%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.89) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Ouster, Inc. will post -2.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Ouster

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. 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 worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 1,608 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Ouster during the second quarter worth about $27,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ouster by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 19,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after acquiring an additional 3,261 shares during the period. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ouster in the 3rd quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, True North Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ouster during the 3rd quarter valued at about $78,000. 31.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ouster

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.