Community Health Systems Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CYH)

Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CYH) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 2,501 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 723% compared to the average volume of 304 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CYH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on Community Health Systems from $3.00 to $2.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Community Health Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Community Health Systems from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Community Health Systems from $3.00 to $3.75 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Community Health Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Community Health Systems has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $3.39.

Community Health Systems Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of NYSE:CYH traded up $0.10 on Friday, hitting $2.88. The company had a trading volume of 857,816 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,715,455. Community Health Systems has a 1 year low of $2.38 and a 1 year high of $4.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $3.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $405.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.81.

Community Health Systems (NYSE:CYH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.09). Community Health Systems had a negative return on equity of 6.58% and a net margin of 2.10%.The company had revenue of $2.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.05) earnings per share. Community Health Systems’s quarterly revenue was down 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Community Health Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at -1.250–1.100 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Community Health Systems will post -0.58 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Community Health Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CYH. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Community Health Systems by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,110,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,465,000 after acquiring an additional 388,116 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Community Health Systems by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,772,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,529,000 after purchasing an additional 342,359 shares during the last quarter. Eversept Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Community Health Systems by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Eversept Partners LP now owns 7,943,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,785,000 after purchasing an additional 993,751 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Community Health Systems by 81.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 35,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 15,767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Community Health Systems by 67.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 6,971 shares during the last quarter. 84.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Community Health Systems

Community Health Systems, Inc (NYSE: CYH) is one of the largest publicly traded hospital operators in the United States. Headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee, the company owns, leases and manages general acute care hospitals and outpatient facilities, primarily in non-urban and mid-market communities. CHS is focused on delivering locally accessible healthcare services through its network of affiliated hospitals, clinics and post-acute providers.

The company’s core offerings include inpatient medical and surgical care, emergency services, critical care, diagnostic imaging and laboratory testing.