Groupon Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:GRPN)

Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 7,210 call options on the company. This is an increase of 23% compared to the average volume of 5,870 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on GRPN. Citigroup restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Groupon in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Groupon in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $13.00 price target (up from $10.00) on shares of Groupon in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Groupon from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Groupon in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Groupon by 48.1% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,938 shares of the coupon company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Groupon by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,618 shares of the coupon company’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Groupon during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Groupon by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 21,340 shares of the coupon company’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,377 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Groupon by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 32,126 shares of the coupon company’s stock valued at $566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,486 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

Groupon Price Performance

Shares of GRPN stock traded down $0.58 on Friday, hitting $22.30. 1,661,273 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,621,020. Groupon has a 52 week low of $9.17 and a 52 week high of $43.08. The firm has a market cap of $847.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.57 and a beta of 0.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.05.

Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The coupon company reported ($0.32) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.30). Groupon had a negative return on equity of 717.37% and a negative net margin of 20.78%.The firm had revenue of $117.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.65 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Groupon will post -0.16 EPS for the current year.

About Groupon

Groupon, Inc operates an online marketplace that connects subscribers with local merchants offering discounted goods, services and experiences. Through its website and mobile applications, Groupon provides time-limited deals across categories such as restaurants, travel, beauty and wellness, home services, and consumer products. Merchants partner with Groupon to attract new customers and drive foot traffic, leveraging the platform’s targeted marketing tools and large subscriber base to promote special offers and vouchers.

Founded in Chicago in 2008 by Andrew Mason, Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell, Groupon pioneered the daily-deals model, quickly growing its user community and merchant network.