Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on BARK (NYSE:BARK)

BARK, Inc. (NYSE:BARK) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 7,439 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 839% compared to the average daily volume of 792 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of BARK from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of BARK in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded BARK to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BARK has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Henrik Werdelin sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.65, for a total transaction of $32,500.00. Following the sale, the director owned 10,890,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,078,750.25. This represents a 0.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jim Mcginty sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.63, for a total value of $37,800.00. Following the sale, the director owned 439,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $276,811.92. This trade represents a 12.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 14.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BARK

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BARK by 58.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 55,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 20,359 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BARK by 100.1% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 42,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 21,118 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of BARK by 195.5% in the 2nd quarter. R Squared Ltd now owns 47,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 31,673 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in BARK in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in BARK by 323.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 50,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 38,526 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.76% of the company’s stock.

BARK Stock Performance

BARK stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $0.97. The stock had a trading volume of 544,519 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,634,233. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $0.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $0.80. BARK has a 52-week low of $0.53 and a 52-week high of $2.04. The stock has a market cap of $166.79 million, a PE ratio of -4.90 and a beta of 1.90.

BARK (NYSE:BARK) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $106.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $103.57 million. BARK had a negative return on equity of 23.45% and a negative net margin of 7.81%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BARK will post -0.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About BARK

BARK is a consumer products and services company focused on the canine market, offering a suite of subscription-based and direct?to?consumer offerings designed to meet the everyday needs of dogs and their owners. The company’s core business revolves around carefully curated boxes of toys, treats and chews, which are delivered monthly to subscribers through its flagship BarkBox service. Over time, BARK has expanded its reach beyond subscription, tapping into e-commerce and wholesale channels to broaden its customer base.

In addition to BarkBox, the company operates BarkShop, an online storefront that allows customers to purchase toys, grooming supplies and nutrition products on an a la carte basis.