Avis Budget Group Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:CAR)

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 19,188 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 174% compared to the typical volume of 6,997 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Avis Budget Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $117.60.

Avis Budget Group Stock Performance

CAR opened at $101.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a PE ratio of -1.95 and a beta of 2.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $75.61 and a 200-day moving average of $85.51. Avis Budget Group has a 52-week low of $54.03 and a 52-week high of $132.25.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The business services provider reported ($14.35) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($5.72) by ($8.63). Avis Budget Group had a negative return on equity of 14.74% and a negative net margin of 15.45%. The firm had revenue of $2.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($3.21) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Avis Budget Group will post 8.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avis Budget Group news, Director Lynn Krominga sold 661 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $62,795.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,355 shares in the company, valued at approximately $318,725. This represents a 16.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 52.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Avis Budget Group

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CAR. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its position in Avis Budget Group by 193.2% in the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 9,028 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $685,000 after buying an additional 5,949 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd increased its position in Avis Budget Group by 341.7% during the first quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 11,048 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $839,000 after acquiring an additional 8,547 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in Avis Budget Group by 89.9% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 5,762 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 28.4% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,477 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Avis Budget Group by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,840 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

About Avis Budget Group

Avis Budget Group, Inc engages in the provision of vehicle sharing and rental services. It operates through the following segments: Americas, International, and Corporate and Other. The Americas segment includes the vehicle rental and car sharing operations in North America, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.