Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on GameStop (NYSE:GME)

GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 270,655 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 39% compared to the typical daily volume of 195,008 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on GME. Wedbush cut their price target on GameStop from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. StockNews.com upgraded GameStop to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 19th.

GameStop Stock Up 6.9 %

Shares of GME traded up $2.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $31.71. 18,218,979 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,254,924. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.52 billion, a PE ratio of 228.33 and a beta of -0.13. GameStop has a fifty-two week low of $9.95 and a fifty-two week high of $64.83. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.87.

GameStop (NYSE:GME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 10th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.09. GameStop had a return on equity of 1.79% and a net margin of 0.93%. The firm had revenue of $798.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $895.67 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.03) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 31.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that GameStop will post 0.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at GameStop

In other GameStop news, insider Daniel William Moore sold 2,624 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total transaction of $55,104.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,280 shares in the company, valued at $677,880. This represents a 7.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Mark Haymond Robinson sold 4,667 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.96, for a total transaction of $102,487.32. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 54,927 shares in the company, valued at $1,206,196.92. This trade represents a 7.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,639 shares of company stock valued at $481,000. 12.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GameStop

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of GameStop by 46.0% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 790,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,127,000 after purchasing an additional 249,100 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC raised its position in shares of GameStop by 270.5% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 150,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,452,000 after purchasing an additional 109,900 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of GameStop by 35.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 209,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,806,000 after acquiring an additional 55,346 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in shares of GameStop by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 184,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,225,000 after acquiring an additional 47,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of GameStop in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $9,577,000. 29.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About GameStop

GameStop Corp., a specialty retailer, provides games and entertainment products through its stores and ecommerce platforms in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe. The company sells new and pre-owned gaming platforms; accessories, such as controllers, gaming headsets, and virtual reality products; new and pre-owned gaming software; and in-game digital currency, digital downloadable content, and full-game downloads.