Groupon Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:GRPN)

Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN – Get Rating) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors purchased 7,524 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 161% compared to the average daily volume of 2,881 put options.

Groupon Trading Down 16.1 %

GRPN stock traded down $0.79 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $4.11. 2,752,137 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 894,046. The company has a market capitalization of $125.10 million, a P/E ratio of -0.50 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Groupon has a fifty-two week low of $3.85 and a fifty-two week high of $21.17. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $7.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.14.

Insider Activity

In other Groupon news, Director Jan Barta bought 6,716,966 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $7.28 per share, for a total transaction of $48,899,512.48. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 6,716,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,899,512.48. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 15.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Groupon

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pale Fire Capital SE purchased a new stake in shares of Groupon during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,632,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Groupon by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,317,007 shares of the coupon company’s stock worth $44,557,000 after buying an additional 17,501 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of Groupon by 75.5% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 952,415 shares of the coupon company’s stock worth $10,763,000 after buying an additional 409,863 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Groupon by 23.1% in the third quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 841,806 shares of the coupon company’s stock worth $6,701,000 after buying an additional 158,027 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Groupon by 13.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 785,314 shares of the coupon company’s stock worth $8,874,000 after buying an additional 92,374 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.11% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Groupon in a research note on Thursday. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.10.

About Groupon

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Groupon, Inc operates as a global scaled two-sided marketplace that connects consumers to merchants. It operates through the North America and International segments. The company was founded by Andrew D. Mason, Eric Paul Lefkofsky, and Bradley A. Keywell in 2008 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.