Stock Traders Buy High Volume of GameStop Call Options (NYSE:GME)

GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 123,959 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 81% compared to the typical volume of 68,382 call options.

Insider Activity at GameStop

In other GameStop news, General Counsel Mark Haymond Robinson sold 13,471 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.15, for a total transaction of $136,730.65. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 50,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $515,995.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Lawrence Cheng acquired 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.22 per share, with a total value of $112,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 65,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $730,287.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Mark Haymond Robinson sold 13,471 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.15, for a total transaction of $136,730.65. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 50,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $515,995.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,428 shares of company stock worth $205,702 over the last three months. Company insiders own 12.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GME. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in GameStop by 1.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,283,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,160,000 after purchasing an additional 345,488 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in GameStop by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,606,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,693,000 after buying an additional 289,947 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of GameStop by 133.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 346,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,710,000 after purchasing an additional 198,140 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in GameStop by 844.8% during the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 191,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,157,000 after acquiring an additional 171,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in GameStop by 527.0% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 146,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,576,000 after acquiring an additional 123,516 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 29.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of GameStop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of GameStop from $6.00 to $5.60 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th.

GameStop Price Performance

GME stock opened at $11.21 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $12.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.09. GameStop has a 12-month low of $9.95 and a 12-month high of $27.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 560.78 and a beta of -0.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.11, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

GameStop (NYSE:GME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 26th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. GameStop had a net margin of 0.13% and a return on equity of 1.35%. GameStop’s quarterly revenue was down 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that GameStop will post 0.01 earnings per share for the current year.

GameStop Company Profile

GameStop Corp., a specialty retailer, provides games and entertainment products through its stores and ecommerce platforms in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe. The company sells new and pre-owned gaming platforms; accessories, such as controllers, gaming headsets, and virtual reality products; new and pre-owned gaming software; and in-game digital currency, digital downloadable content, and full-game downloads.