Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Grab (NASDAQ:GRAB)

Grab Holdings Limited (NASDAQ:GRAB) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 47,187 put options on the company. This is an increase of 26% compared to the average volume of 37,505 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on GRAB shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Grab from $7.00 to $5.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Grab from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. KeyCorp set a $7.00 price target on shares of Grab in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Grab in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Grab in a report on Friday, September 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.11.

Grab Trading Up 4.0%

NASDAQ:GRAB traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $3.02. The company had a trading volume of 34,053,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 52,696,254. Grab has a 52 week low of $2.74 and a 52 week high of $6.24. The company has a market capitalization of $12.40 billion, a PE ratio of 50.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $3.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

Grab (NASDAQ:GRAB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $997.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $994.97 million. Grab had a return on equity of 8.83% and a net margin of 15.97%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Grab will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Grab

In other Grab news, insider Philipp Wolfgang Josef Kandal sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.08, for a total transaction of $92,400.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 3,958,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,192,903.80. This trade represents a 0.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Alexander Hungate acquired 299,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $2.89 per share, with a total value of $865,760.19. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer owned 6,411,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,529,379.50. This represents a 4.90% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 819,349 shares of company stock worth $2,865,355 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Grab

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. HBW Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Grab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Fermata Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Grab in the third quarter worth $31,000. Andra AP fonden increased its stake in shares of Grab by 27.6% during the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 1,707,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,436,000 after buying an additional 369,700 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Grab by 6.2% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 487,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 28,398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its position in shares of Grab by 40.6% in the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 217,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $819,000 after acquiring an additional 62,686 shares in the last quarter. 55.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Grab

Grab Holdings Limited is a Singapore-based technology company that operates a superapp serving consumers, drivers, merchants and businesses across Southeast Asia. Its platform connects users with everyday services through a single digital application.

The company’s main businesses include mobility services such as ride-hailing and taxi bookings, food and grocery delivery, and digital payments. Grab also provides financial services, including digital wallets, lending, insurance and other financial products, subject to local regulations.