GameStop Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:GME)

GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors purchased 311,688 call options on the company. This is an increase of 116% compared to the typical volume of 144,303 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded GameStop from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Wedbush boosted their target price on GameStop from $5.60 to $7.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling at GameStop

In other GameStop news, Director Lawrence Cheng purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $11.22 per share, with a total value of $112,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 65,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $730,287.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, General Counsel Mark Haymond Robinson sold 13,471 shares of GameStop stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.15, for a total value of $136,730.65. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 50,837 shares in the company, valued at $515,995.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lawrence Cheng acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $11.22 per share, with a total value of $112,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 65,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $730,287.36. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 27,421 shares of company stock valued at $288,153. 12.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GameStop

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in GameStop by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,283,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,160,000 after acquiring an additional 345,488 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in GameStop by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,606,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,693,000 after acquiring an additional 289,947 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of GameStop by 133.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 346,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,710,000 after purchasing an additional 198,140 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of GameStop by 844.8% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 191,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,157,000 after purchasing an additional 171,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of GameStop by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,479,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,519,000 after purchasing an additional 147,655 shares in the last quarter. 29.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GameStop Price Performance

Shares of GME opened at $19.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 2.11. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.04. GameStop has a 52-week low of $9.95 and a 52-week high of $64.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.82 billion, a PE ratio of 950.48 and a beta of -0.25.

GameStop (NYSE:GME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 26th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.07). GameStop had a net margin of 0.13% and a return on equity of 1.35%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.16 earnings per share. GameStop’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that GameStop will post 0.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GameStop Company Profile

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.