Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP)

CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 3,531 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 129% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,541 put options.

CoStar Group Stock Up 5.2 %

CSGP stock traded up $3.61 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $73.22. The stock had a trading volume of 680,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,266,704. CoStar Group has a 1-year low of $68.26 and a 1-year high of $100.38. The company has a current ratio of 9.63, a quick ratio of 9.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $30.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 166.41 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $74.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.36.

CoStar Group (NASDAQ:CSGP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The technology company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.06. CoStar Group had a net margin of 6.57% and a return on equity of 3.53%. The firm had revenue of $692.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $695.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CoStar Group will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CSGP has been the subject of a number of research reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of CoStar Group in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of CoStar Group from $90.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of CoStar Group in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $103.00 price objective on shares of CoStar Group in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of CoStar Group from $108.00 to $99.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.92.

Insider Activity at CoStar Group

In related news, insider Michael J. Desmarais sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.88, for a total transaction of $439,340.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 58,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,696,784.24. This trade represents a 8.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Andrew C. Florance purchased 14,731 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $74.67 per share, for a total transaction of $1,099,963.77. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,263,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,315,527.66. The trade was a 1.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CoStar Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CSGP. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of CoStar Group by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 8,638 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $652,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of CoStar Group by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,027 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $606,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its stake in shares of CoStar Group by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 37,501 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,780,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its stake in shares of CoStar Group by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 19,133 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bell Bank grew its position in shares of CoStar Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bell Bank now owns 18,232 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,375,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.60% of the company’s stock.

CoStar Group Company Profile

CoStar Group, Inc provides information, analytics, and online marketplace services to the commercial real estate, hospitality, residential, and related professionals industries in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company offers CoStar Property that provides inventory of office, industrial, retail, multifamily, hospitality, and student housing properties and land; CoStar Sales, a robust database of comparable commercial real estate sales transactions; CoStar Market Analytics to view and report on aggregated market and submarket trends; and CoStar Tenant, an online business-to-business prospecting and analytical tool that provides tenant information.