Traders Buy Large Volume of Unity Software Call Options (NYSE:U)

Unity Software Inc. (NYSE:U) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 41,488 call options on the company. This is an increase of 30% compared to the typical volume of 31,961 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

U has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Unity Software from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Unity Software in a research report on Monday, June 29th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Unity Software from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Unity Software from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Unity Software from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.49.

Unity Software Stock Performance

Shares of U stock traded up $5.22 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $40.69. The company had a trading volume of 18,583,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,392,112. Unity Software has a 52-week low of $16.78 and a 52-week high of $52.15. The stock has a market cap of $17.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.88, a PEG ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 2.04. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.95.

Unity Software (NYSE:U) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.11) by $0.39. Unity Software had a negative net margin of 34.99% and a negative return on equity of 1.30%. The company had revenue of $546.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $514.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.18 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Unity Software will post 0.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Unity Software

In other Unity Software news, SVP Rebecca Berenice Boyden sold 952 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.20, for a total value of $25,894.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 309,445 shares in the company, valued at $8,416,904. The trade was a 0.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Jarrod Yahes sold 24,021 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.18, for a total value of $652,890.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 704,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,144,504.80. This represents a 3.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 198,321 shares of company stock valued at $5,390,783 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unity Software

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Unity Software during the second quarter worth $1,370,000. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Unity Software in the second quarter valued at approximately $413,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Unity Software by 12.2% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 104,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,975,000 after acquiring an additional 11,300 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unity Software by 105.2% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Unity Software in the second quarter worth $757,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.46% of the company’s stock.

Unity Software Company Profile

Unity Software is a leading provider of a real-time 3D development platform that enables creators across industries to design, build and operate interactive, real-time experiences. Originally focused on the game development market, Unity’s technology now extends into sectors such as film, automotive, architecture, engineering and construction, delivering immersive content for mobile, desktop, console, augmented reality and virtual reality devices. The company’s core offering comprises a suite of authoring tools, runtime engines and cloud services that streamline the creation and deployment of interactive 3D applications.

The Unity Editor serves as the central hub where developers design scenes, script behavior and iterate on assets.