Symbotic Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:SYM)

Symbotic Inc. (NASDAQ:SYM) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 14,612 call options on the company. This is an increase of 41% compared to the typical daily volume of 10,333 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SYM. Northland Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Symbotic from $35.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Symbotic in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Symbotic from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. DA Davidson raised Symbotic from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Symbotic in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.73.

Symbotic Price Performance

SYM stock traded down $2.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $29.76. 4,186,179 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,510,756. The stock has a market cap of $17.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -496.00 and a beta of 1.76. Symbotic has a 1 year low of $17.11 and a 1 year high of $52.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $27.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.55.

Symbotic (NASDAQ:SYM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 18th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.05. The company had revenue of $576.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $470.24 million. Symbotic had a negative net margin of 0.32% and a positive return on equity of 6.49%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 47.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.08) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Symbotic will post 0.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael David Dunn sold 1,715 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.77, for a total value of $49,340.55. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 87,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,529,515.94. This trade represents a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Carol J. Hibbard sold 22,821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.96, for a total value of $660,896.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $990,084.48. This represents a 40.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 111,844 shares of company stock valued at $3,268,431 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 38.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Castleview Partners LLC lifted its position in Symbotic by 50.0% during the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new position in shares of Symbotic during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Symbotic by 147.1% in the 3rd quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 2,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 1,211 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Symbotic by 19,307.7% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 2,510 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Symbotic in the second quarter valued at about $65,000.

About Symbotic

Symbotic Inc, an automation technology company, engages in developing technologies to improve operating efficiencies in modern warehouses. The company automates the processing of pallets and cases in large warehouses or distribution centers for retail companies. Its systems enhance operations at the front end of the supply chain.