Investors Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Forward Industries (NASDAQ:FWDI)

Forward Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWDI) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors acquired 2,077 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 201% compared to the average daily volume of 690 put options.

Forward Industries Trading Up 4.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:FWDI traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $8.05. The stock had a trading volume of 1,276,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,200,786. Forward Industries has a 1 year low of $3.48 and a 1 year high of $33.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $5.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.75. The company has a market capitalization of $594.54 million, a PE ratio of 67.27 and a beta of 0.88.

Forward Industries (NASDAQ:FWDI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.84). The firm had revenue of $10.78 million for the quarter. Forward Industries had a negative return on equity of 18.05% and a negative net margin of 2,073.82%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Forward Industries will post -0.4 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on FWDI shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Forward Industries from $8.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings raised Forward Industries from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Forward Industries in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Forward Industries from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.50.

Institutional Trading of Forward Industries

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Forward Industries during the second quarter worth $88,000. Aristides Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Forward Industries in the fourth quarter valued at $180,000. ParaFi Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Forward Industries during the 2nd quarter worth $684,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Forward Industries during the 2nd quarter worth $739,000.

About Forward Industries

Forward Industries, Inc (NASDAQ: FWDI) is a product design, development and manufacturing company that creates solutions for medical, industrial, consumer electronics and other specialized markets. The company is known for developing protective and carrying products, including custom cases, bags, backpacks and related accessories designed to support the transportation and use of electronic and technical equipment.

Forward Industries serves original equipment manufacturers, distributors and other business customers through customized product development and manufacturing programs.