Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of NU Call Options (NYSE:NU)

Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors bought 123,974 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 67% compared to the average daily volume of 74,309 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Anita M. Sands sold 21,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.24, for a total transaction of $257,040.00. Following the sale, the director owned 162,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,984,716. The trade was a 11.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NU. LOM Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of NU in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in NU by 14,810.0% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,481 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in NU by 5,448.3% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,580 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in NU in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in NU in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 84.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NU Price Performance

NU stock traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $14.03. 160,438,401 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 59,477,734. NU has a 12-month low of $11.20 and a 12-month high of $18.98. The company has a market capitalization of $68.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.59, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $12.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

NU (NYSE:NU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 15th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.06 billion. NU had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 30.91%. Analysts forecast that NU will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NU announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, June 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of NU in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. CICC Research assumed coverage on NU in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on NU from $18.10 to $16.90 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered NU from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on NU in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $17.00 price target for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NU has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.24.

About NU

Nu Holdings Ltd (NYSE: NU), commonly known by its consumer brand Nubank, is a Latin American financial technology company that provides digital banking and financial services through a mobile-first platform. The company’s core offerings include no-fee digital checking accounts, credit cards, personal loans, payments and transfers, and a range of savings and investment products. Nubank emphasizes a streamlined customer experience delivered via its smartphone app, combined with data-driven underwriting and automated customer service tools.

Founded in 2013 by David Vélez, Cristina Junqueira and Edward Wible, Nu grew rapidly by targeting underbanked and digitally savvy consumers in Latin America with low-fee, transparent products.