Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on CommScope (NASDAQ:COMM)

CommScope Holding Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:COMM) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 19,672 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 88% compared to the typical volume of 10,442 call options.

CommScope Stock Up 7.5%

COMM traded up $1.29 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $18.49. The company had a trading volume of 3,963,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,785,436. The company has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.65, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 2.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $16.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.97. CommScope has a 52 week low of $2.94 and a 52 week high of $18.58.

CommScope (NASDAQ:COMM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. CommScope had a negative return on equity of 13.70% and a net margin of 17.57%.The firm’s revenue was up 50.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.05) EPS. Research analysts predict that CommScope will post -0.24 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on COMM shares. Northland Securities set a $25.00 price target on shares of CommScope in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of CommScope in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of CommScope from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $4.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of CommScope from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised CommScope from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.17.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in CommScope during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in CommScope in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in CommScope during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in CommScope in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in CommScope during the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. 88.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CommScope Company Profile

CommScope Holding Company, Inc provides infrastructure solutions for communications, data center, and entertainment networks worldwide. The company operates through Connectivity and Cable Solutions (CCS); Outdoor Wireless Networks (OWN); Networking, Intelligent Cellular and Security Solutions (NICS), and Access Network Solutions (ANS) segments.