Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Sony (NYSE:SONY)

Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors bought 38,722 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 263% compared to the average daily volume of 10,680 call options.

Sony Trading Up 5.7%

Sony stock traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $21.30. 8,716,743 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,128,055. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.18. Sony has a 52 week low of $19.63 and a 52 week high of $30.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.69 billion, a PE ratio of -106.47, a P/E/G ratio of 6.97 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Sony (NYSE:SONY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.13). Sony had a positive return on equity of 13.59% and a negative net margin of 1.44%.The firm had revenue of $19.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $32.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sony will post 1.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Sony in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Sony from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research cut shares of Sony from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $22.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of Sony in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. YANKCOM Partnership lifted its stake in Sony by 748.7% in the fourth quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sony by 304.0% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 760 shares in the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc lifted its stake in Sony by 81.7% in the third quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 1,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Sony in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in Sony in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors own 14.05% of the company’s stock.

Sony Company Profile

Sony Group Corporation (NYSE: SONY) is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Founded in 1946 by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita, Sony has grown from an electronics maker into a diversified global company with operations spanning consumer electronics, entertainment, gaming, semiconductors and financial services. The company’s shares trade in Japan and its American Depositary Receipts trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SONY.

Sony’s primary businesses include Electronics Products & Solutions, which covers televisions, audio equipment, digital cameras and professional broadcast systems; Game & Network Services, anchored by the PlayStation platform, consoles, software and online services; Music and Pictures, through Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment, producing, distributing and licensing recorded music, film and television content; Imaging & Sensing Solutions, which develops CMOS image sensors and other semiconductor components; and Financial Services, offering life insurance, banking and other financial products in Japan.