Investors Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED)

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (NYSE:BNED) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors bought 3,876 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 238% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,148 put options.

Barnes & Noble Education Price Performance

Shares of Barnes & Noble Education stock opened at $0.24 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $0.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.55 million, a PE ratio of -0.15 and a beta of 2.01. Barnes & Noble Education has a 12 month low of $0.18 and a 12 month high of $2.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 12th. The specialty retailer reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter. Barnes & Noble Education had a negative return on equity of 51.52% and a negative net margin of 5.22%. The business had revenue of $456.67 million during the quarter.

Institutional Trading of Barnes & Noble Education

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Belvedere Trading LLC bought a new stake in Barnes & Noble Education during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. PEAK6 Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 258.6% during the third quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC now owns 46,506 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 33,539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenhaven Road Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Barnes & Noble Education by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Greenhaven Road Investment Management L.P. now owns 5,256,342 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,832,000 after purchasing an additional 90,003 shares during the last quarter. 38.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on BNED shares. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Barnes & Noble Education in a report on Friday, May 3rd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Craig Hallum reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $1.25 target price (down previously from $3.00) on shares of Barnes & Noble Education in a research report on Thursday, January 11th.

About Barnes & Noble Education

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc operates bookstores for college and university campuses, and K-12 institutions in the United States. It operates through Retail and Wholesale segments. The company sells and rents new and used print textbooks, digital textbooks, and publisher hosted digital courseware through physical and virtual bookstores, as well as directly to students through Textbooks.com.