XP Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:XP)

XP Inc. (NASDAQ:XP) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 11,816 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 136% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,014 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on XP shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of XP from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. UBS Group reduced their target price on XP from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Itau BBA Securities upgraded XP from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.00.

Institutional Trading of XP

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of XP by 65.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in XP by 1,783.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 2,675 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in XP by 117.3% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in XP in the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, Vestcor Inc purchased a new stake in XP during the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.15% of the company’s stock.

XP Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:XP traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $20.19. 1,759,524 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,856,918. The company has a fifty day moving average of $16.69 and a 200 day moving average of $17.92. XP has a 12 month low of $14.80 and a 12 month high of $23.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 4.80 and a current ratio of 4.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.08.

XP (NASDAQ:XP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 17th. The company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.03. XP had a return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 27.20%.The company had revenue of $943.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $935.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that XP will post 2.11 EPS for the current year.

XP announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 19th that allows the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About XP

XP Inc provides financial products and services in Brazil. It offers securities brokerage, private pension plans, commercial, and investment banking products, such as loan operations and transactions in the foreign exchange markets and deposits; product structuring and capital markets services for corporate clients and issuers of fixed income products; advisory services for mass-affluent and institutional clients; and wealth management services for high-net-worth customers and institutional clients.