Groupon Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:GRPN)

Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 10,209 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 32% compared to the typical daily volume of 7,740 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tyro Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Groupon during the fourth quarter worth about $20,964,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Groupon by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 855,900 shares of the coupon company’s stock valued at $10,399,000 after acquiring an additional 54,600 shares during the period. Prentice Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Groupon by 291.3% during the fourth quarter. Prentice Capital Management LP now owns 781,694 shares of the coupon company’s stock valued at $9,498,000 after purchasing an additional 581,943 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Groupon by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 710,942 shares of the coupon company’s stock worth $6,953,000 after purchasing an additional 114,400 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Groupon by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 566,612 shares of the coupon company’s stock valued at $5,542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,498 shares during the period. 90.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Groupon Stock Performance

Groupon stock traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $18.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 698,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,343,017. The firm has a market cap of $717.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.25 and a beta of 1.41. Groupon has a twelve month low of $7.75 and a twelve month high of $18.50. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $12.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.66.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GRPN. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Groupon from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Ascendiant Capital Markets lifted their price target on Groupon from $14.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.75.

Groupon Company Profile

Groupon, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates a marketplace that connects consumers to merchants. It operates in two segments, North America and International. The company sells goods or services on behalf of third-party merchants. It serves customers through its mobile applications and websites.