Coupang Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:CPNG)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: traders bought 35,584 call options on Coupang — about 59% above the average daily call volume — as the stock traded up 1.8% to $20.12 on lighter-than-normal share volume.
• Significant insider buy: director Neil Mehta purchased 3,000,000 shares at roughly $18.68 each (~$56.0M), increasing his stake to ~52.98M shares and contributing to insider purchases of 7.35M shares in the past 90 days.
• Recent fundamentals and sentiment: Coupang missed quarterly estimates (EPS $(0.01) vs. $0.02 expected; revenue $8.84B vs. $9.12B expected), and analysts are mixed with a consensus Hold rating and an average target of $26.70.

Coupang, Inc. (NYSE:CPNG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders purchased 35,584 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 59% compared to the average daily volume of 22,320 call options.

Coupang Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of CPNG stock traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $20.12. The stock had a trading volume of 7,216,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,814,813. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $18.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.77 billion, a PE ratio of 167.56 and a beta of 1.16. Coupang has a 52-week low of $16.74 and a 52-week high of $34.08.

Coupang (NYSE:CPNG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $8.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.12 billion. Coupang had a net margin of 0.60% and a return on equity of 4.52%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.04 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Coupang will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Coupang news, Director Neil Mehta purchased 3,000,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.68 per share, with a total value of $56,040,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 52,978,114 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $989,631,169.52. The trade was a 6.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have acquired a total of 7,350,104 shares of company stock worth $136,566,051 over the last ninety days. 12.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Coupang by 140.3% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,482,212 shares of the company's stock worth $35,154,000 after acquiring an additional 865,386 shares during the period. Osbon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Coupang during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Coupang by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 75,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,742,000 after purchasing an additional 9,095 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Coupang during the 4th quarter worth about $1,245,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Coupang during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. 83.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coupang from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $25.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Coupang in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Coupang from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. UBS Group set a $25.00 target price on shares of Coupang in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Nomura decreased their target price on shares of Coupang from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.70.

Coupang Company Profile

Coupang, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CPNG, is a South Korean e-commerce company headquartered in Seoul. Founded in 2010 by Bom Kim, the company grew rapidly by combining an online marketplace with a large direct-retail business model. Coupang completed a primary listing in the United States in 2021, and it has become one of South Korea's leading online retailers by focusing on convenience, speed and a wide product assortment across consumer categories.

The company operates a vertically integrated e-commerce platform that includes a customer-facing marketplace and an extensive logistics and fulfillment network.

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