Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Community Health Systems (NYSE:CYH)

Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CYH - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 11,874 call options on the company. This is an increase of 447% compared to the average volume of 2,170 call options.

Community Health Systems Stock Performance

CYH traded up $0.07 on Wednesday, reaching $3.03. The company had a trading volume of 2,546,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,054,797. Community Health Systems has a fifty-two week low of $2.01 and a fifty-two week high of $6.53. The stock has a market cap of $421.11 million, a P/E ratio of -2.94 and a beta of 1.52. The company's fifty day moving average is $3.09 and its 200 day moving average is $3.05.

Community Health Systems (NYSE:CYH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.44). Community Health Systems had a negative net margin of 1.07% and a negative return on equity of 5.51%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Community Health Systems will post -0.45 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Community Health Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Red Door Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Community Health Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Community Health Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new stake in Community Health Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Zullo Investment Group Inc. bought a new stake in Community Health Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Community Health Systems from $6.50 to $5.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Community Health Systems in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $3.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Community Health Systems from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $4.20.

Community Health Systems Company Profile

Community Health Systems, Inc owns, leases, and operates general acute care hospitals in the United States. It offers general acute care, emergency room, general and specialty surgery, critical care, internal medicine, obstetrics, diagnostic, psychiatric, and rehabilitation services, as well as skilled nursing and home care services.