Paramount Global Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:PARA)

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 23,302 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 50% compared to the typical daily volume of 15,539 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Macquarie reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Paramount Global from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Paramount Global from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Paramount Global in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.43.

Paramount Global Stock Performance

PARA traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $10.43. 5,161,988 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,371,686. Paramount Global has a 1-year low of $9.54 and a 1-year high of $15.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.71. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.75.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.25. Paramount Global had a positive return on equity of 5.81% and a negative net margin of 18.89%. The firm had revenue of $6.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Paramount Global will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Paramount Global

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lingotto Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 628.8% in the 2nd quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 29,937,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,046,000 after buying an additional 25,829,185 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Paramount Global by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 44,154,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,695,000 after purchasing an additional 6,848,037 shares in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC increased its holdings in Paramount Global by 16.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 14,042,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,899,000 after purchasing an additional 1,992,576 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Paramount Global by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,842,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,606,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Paramount Global by 602.8% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,783,489 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,530,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529,719 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.00% of the company’s stock.

Paramount Global Company Profile

Paramount Global operates as a media, streaming, and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through TV Media, Direct-to-Consumer, and Filmed Entertainment segments. The TV Media segment operates CBS Television Network, a domestic broadcast television network; CBS Stations, a television station; and international free-to-air networks comprising Network 10, Channel 5, Telefe, and Chilevisión; domestic premium and basic cable networks, such as Paramount+ with Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, The Smithsonian Channel, Nickelodeon, BET Media Group, and CBS Sports Network; and international extensions of these brands.