Blue Owl Capital Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:OWL)

Key Points

• Unusually large options activity: traders bought 75,046 call options (about a 43% jump vs. average), coinciding with a one-day stock rise to $9.72 on very heavy volume, signaling elevated bullish positioning.
• Q1 showed operational strength—higher distributable and fee‑related earnings and AUM up to $315B—with EPS of $0.19 matching expectations but revenue slightly missing consensus, prompting a positive market reaction.
• Material downside risks remain, including a $414M shareholder lawsuit, analyst target cuts (JPMorgan to $10.50) and heightened scrutiny/investigations tied to related vehicles that could create headline volatility.

Blue Owl Capital Inc. (NYSE:OWL - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders bought 75,046 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 43% compared to the average volume of 52,619 call options.

Key Stories Impacting Blue Owl Capital

Here are the key news stories impacting Blue Owl Capital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 operating wins — Blue Owl reported higher distributable earnings, stronger fee‑related earnings and AUM growth to $315B, which management cited as evidence of the strength of its three platforms; these fundamentals supported upside in profit metrics. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction — Several outlets noted the stock jumped after Q1 results and commentary, reflecting investor relief that earnings hit or beat key operating metrics. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported earnings largely in line — EPS was $0.19, matching consensus and up from $0.17 a year ago, but revenue of ~$699.9M missed the ~$706.6M consensus, leaving mixed top‑line signals for investors. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Asset growth vs. direct lending slowdown — AUM growth met estimates despite continued weakness in direct lending, indicating some resilience but highlighting exposure to a pressured segment. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder lawsuit — A stockholder has sued Blue Owl’s adviser alleging ~$414M in excessive fees, creating legal risk and potential headline volatility. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade/target cut — JPMorgan lowered its price target substantially to $10.50 and moved to a neutral rating, which may reduce buy‑side enthusiasm and limit upside. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Heightened scrutiny and related investigations — Coverage flagged growing investor scrutiny as the shares trade near lows, and separate legal/investigative activity tied to Blue Owl Credit Income Corp. (OCIC) has emerged, posing reputational and idiosyncratic risks. Read More. Read More.

Blue Owl Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:OWL traded up $0.84 during trading on Thursday, reaching $9.72. The company had a trading volume of 52,863,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,171,842. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 97.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.21. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $9.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.09. Blue Owl Capital has a fifty-two week low of $7.95 and a fifty-two week high of $21.08.

Blue Owl Capital (NYSE:OWL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19. Blue Owl Capital had a return on equity of 20.93% and a net margin of 2.75%.The firm had revenue of $699.88 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $706.59 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Blue Owl Capital will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blue Owl Capital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.225 per share. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. Blue Owl Capital's dividend payout ratio is currently 900.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OWL. Arax Advisory Partners acquired a new position in Blue Owl Capital during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC grew its holdings in Blue Owl Capital by 383.6% during the fourth quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC now owns 1,765 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank acquired a new position in Blue Owl Capital during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Blue Owl Capital by 117.0% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,608 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 867 shares during the period. Finally, Lavaca Capital LLC acquired a new position in Blue Owl Capital during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 35.85% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on OWL. Wolfe Research set a $20.00 price target on Blue Owl Capital in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Blue Owl Capital from $14.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Citizens Jmp cut their price target on Blue Owl Capital from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zacks Research lowered Blue Owl Capital from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Blue Owl Capital from $19.00 to $10.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $15.13.

About Blue Owl Capital

Blue Owl Capital is a global alternative asset manager that focuses on private credit, direct lending and equity-related strategies for institutional investors. Headquartered in New York, the firm develops and manages a range of private markets products designed to provide capital solutions to middle-market and larger corporate borrowers, as well as liquidity and partnership arrangements with private equity firms and other alternative managers.

Its core activities include direct lending and credit strategies that provide senior, unitranche and other structured loan products to companies across industries.

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