Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR)

MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 832,307 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 79% compared to the average daily volume of 465,265 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MSTR shares. TD Cowen boosted their target price on MicroStrategy from $392.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of MicroStrategy in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on MicroStrategy from $290.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays increased their target price on MicroStrategy from $275.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $650.00 price target on shares of MicroStrategy in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $479.25.

MicroStrategy Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of MSTR opened at $377.31 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.42 billion, a PE ratio of -179.07 and a beta of 3.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $366.62 and its 200-day moving average is $240.20. MicroStrategy has a 12 month low of $43.87 and a 12 month high of $543.00.

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The software maker reported ($1.56) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by ($1.44). The firm had revenue of $116.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $121.45 million. MicroStrategy had a negative net margin of 87.05% and a negative return on equity of 17.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($8.98) earnings per share.

Insider Activity at MicroStrategy

In related news, CFO Andrew Kang sold 5,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.15, for a total value of $1,465,755.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 12,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,106,372. The trade was a 32.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen X. Graham sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.36, for a total transaction of $9,027,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,145,979.20. The trade was a 74.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 102,000 shares of company stock worth $32,259,177 in the last ninety days. 9.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MicroStrategy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in MicroStrategy by 900.0% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 150 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its stake in MicroStrategy by 2,900.0% in the third quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in MicroStrategy during the third quarter worth $27,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in MicroStrategy by 900.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 160 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of MicroStrategy by 900.0% during the third quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 170 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. 59.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About MicroStrategy

MicroStrategy Incorporated provides artificial intelligence-powered enterprise analytics software and services in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. It offers MicroStrategy ONE, which provides non-technical users with the ability to directly access novel and actionable insights for decision-making; and MicroStrategy Cloud for Government service, which offers always-on threat monitoring that meets the rigorous technical and regulatory needs of governments and financial institutions.