Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Gates Industrial (NYSE:GTES)

Gates Industrial Corp PLC (NYSE:GTES) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors purchased 3,945 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 366% compared to the typical daily volume of 847 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on GTES. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Gates Industrial from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Gates Industrial from $23.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Gates Industrial from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Gates Industrial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Gates Industrial from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.11.

Gates Industrial Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE GTES traded down $0.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $19.42. 569,014 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,814,761. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 3.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.55 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $20.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.02. Gates Industrial has a 1 year low of $15.14 and a 1 year high of $23.85.

Gates Industrial (NYSE:GTES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.33. Gates Industrial had a net margin of 5.72% and a return on equity of 9.75%. On average, equities analysts predict that Gates Industrial will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Gates Industrial

In other Gates Industrial news, Director Fredrik J. Eliasson acquired 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.56 per share, with a total value of $1,173,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 188,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,686,121.12. The trade was a 46.71 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gates Industrial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Gates Industrial by 187.4% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 1,210 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Gates Industrial by 2,968.6% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Gates Industrial in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Gates Industrial by 178.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 1,598 shares during the period. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Gates Industrial by 38.1% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the period. 98.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gates Industrial Company Profile

Gates Industrial Corporation PLC designs and manufactures power transmission equipment. Its products serves harsh and hazardous industries such as agriculture, construction, manufacturing and energy, to everyday consumer applications such as printers, power washers, automatic doors and vacuum cleaners and virtually every form of transportation.