Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Gates Industrial Call Options (NYSE:GTES)

Gates Industrial Corporation PLC (NYSE:GTES) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 6,003 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 137% compared to the average daily volume of 2,534 call options.

Gates Industrial Trading Up 0.9%

GTES traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $21.39. 423,394 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,324,086. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.45 and a beta of 1.25. Gates Industrial has a one year low of $14.70 and a one year high of $26.46. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a current ratio of 3.52.

Gates Industrial (NYSE:GTES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. Gates Industrial had a net margin of 6.93% and a return on equity of 10.38%. The business had revenue of $855.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $860.95 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.33 EPS. Gates Industrial’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Gates Industrial has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.480-1.520 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Gates Industrial will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on GTES. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Gates Industrial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Gates Industrial from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Gates Industrial in a report on Monday, August 25th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Gates Industrial in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $23.00 target price for the company. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $30.00 price target (up from $26.00) on shares of Gates Industrial in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gates Industrial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gates Industrial news, CFO Lawrence B. Mallard sold 22,188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.77, for a total transaction of $505,220.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 177,627 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,044,566.79. This represents a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gates Industrial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Gates Industrial by 89.9% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 32,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $601,000 after purchasing an additional 15,444 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new stake in shares of Gates Industrial during the second quarter worth approximately $319,000. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Gates Industrial by 15.7% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 179,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,300,000 after purchasing an additional 24,356 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Gates Industrial during the 1st quarter worth approximately $9,781,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Gates Industrial by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,133,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,105,000 after purchasing an additional 22,586 shares during the period. 98.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Gates Industrial

Gates Industrial Corporation PLC designs and manufactures power transmission equipment. Its products serves harsh and hazardous industries such as agriculture, construction, manufacturing and energy, to everyday consumer applications such as printers, power washers, automatic doors and vacuum cleaners and virtually every form of transportation.