Traders Buy High Volume of Shopify Call Options (NYSE:SHOP)

Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) (TSE:SHOP) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 65,460 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 14% compared to the typical volume of 57,243 call options.

Shopify Price Performance

NYSE SHOP opened at $127.65 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $111.43 and its 200-day moving average is $92.02. The company has a quick ratio of 7.10, a current ratio of 7.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market capitalization of $164.93 billion, a PE ratio of 119.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 2.47. Shopify has a 12-month low of $48.56 and a 12-month high of $128.00.

Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) (TSE:SHOP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The software maker reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.10). Shopify had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 11.60%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Shopify will post 0.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on SHOP. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Shopify from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. New Street Research assumed coverage on shares of Shopify in a report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Shopify from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Shopify in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Shopify from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, twenty-five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.14.

Institutional Trading of Shopify

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Shopify by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 63,366,308 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $5,078,176,000 after purchasing an additional 8,131,160 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Shopify by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,080,112 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $5,010,721,000 after buying an additional 781,162 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Shopify by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 43,732,077 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $4,653,054,000 after buying an additional 1,426,000 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Shopify by 79.8% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 16,487,579 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,752,834,000 after buying an additional 7,316,862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd lifted its position in shares of Shopify by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 15,774,148 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,678,865,000 after buying an additional 1,682,326 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.27% of the company’s stock.

About Shopify

Shopify Inc, a commerce company, provides a commerce platform and services in Canada, the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, China, and Latin America. The company’s platform enables merchants to displays, manages, markets, and sells its products through various sales channels, including web and mobile storefronts, physical retail locations, pop-up shops, social media storefronts, native mobile apps, buy buttons, and marketplaces; and enables to manage products and inventory, process orders and payments, fulfill and ship orders, new buyers and build customer relationships, source products, leverage analytics and reporting, manage cash, payments and transactions, and access financing.