Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX)

iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 14,676 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 39% compared to the typical volume of 10,577 call options.

iShares Semiconductor ETF Stock Performance

Shares of SOXX traded up $5.32 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $375.72. The company had a trading volume of 3,504,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,369,668. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $344.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $316.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.84 and a beta of 1.53. iShares Semiconductor ETF has a 1 year low of $160.26 and a 1 year high of $377.14.

iShares Semiconductor ETF Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were paid a $0.2079 dividend. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iShares Semiconductor ETF

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in iShares Semiconductor ETF in the third quarter valued at $646,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in iShares Semiconductor ETF by 34.3% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,167 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $3,841,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616 shares during the last quarter. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. grew its holdings in iShares Semiconductor ETF by 4.6% in the third quarter. Analyst IMS Investment Management Services Ltd. now owns 159,111 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $43,138,000 after purchasing an additional 6,953 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in iShares Semiconductor ETF by 66.4% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 10,024 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $2,718,000 after purchasing an additional 4,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in iShares Semiconductor ETF in the third quarter valued at $2,468,000.

About iShares Semiconductor ETF

iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF, formerly iShares PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index Fund (the Fund), is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the United States-listed semiconductor stocks as represented by the PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index (the Index). The Index is an equity benchmark for the United States-listed semiconductor stocks. The Index includes companies primarily involved in the design, distribution, manufacture and sale of semiconductors.