Groupon Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:GRPN)

Key Points

• Groupon saw unusually heavy options activity on Monday, with traders buying 11,468 call options, about 70% above the typical volume.
• The stock fell 11.3% to $23.12 amid trading volume below average, though it remains well above its 52-week low and below its 52-week high.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the consensus rating is Hold with a $19.50 price target, after Groupon recently missed earnings expectations and posted revenue roughly in line with forecasts.

Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders bought 11,468 call options on the company. This is an increase of 70% compared to the typical volume of 6,747 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Groupon by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,108,578 shares of the coupon company's stock valued at $49,235,000 after purchasing an additional 383,277 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Groupon by 552.5% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,136,524 shares of the coupon company's stock worth $38,017,000 after purchasing an additional 962,337 shares during the last quarter. Garnet Equity Capital Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Groupon by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Garnet Equity Capital Holdings Inc. now owns 958,660 shares of the coupon company's stock valued at $16,882,000 after buying an additional 40,000 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Groupon by 25.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 881,422 shares of the coupon company's stock valued at $15,522,000 after buying an additional 180,992 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Groupon by 749.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 791,498 shares of the coupon company's stock valued at $13,938,000 after buying an additional 698,270 shares during the last quarter. 90.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Groupon Stock Down 11.3%

Shares of NASDAQ GRPN traded down $2.93 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $23.12. 1,345,966 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,634,109. Groupon has a 52 week low of $9.17 and a 52 week high of $43.08. The company's 50 day moving average price is $19.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $878.06 million, a PE ratio of -8.85 and a beta of 0.23.

Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The coupon company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.30). The business had revenue of $117.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $117.65 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Groupon will post -0.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Groupon in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Northland Securities set a $26.00 target price on Groupon in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen cut Groupon from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Groupon in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "sell" rating and issued a $13.00 target price (up from $10.00) on shares of Groupon in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.50.

About Groupon

Groupon, Inc operates an online marketplace that connects subscribers with local merchants offering discounted goods, services and experiences. Through its website and mobile applications, Groupon provides time-limited deals across categories such as restaurants, travel, beauty and wellness, home services, and consumer products. Merchants partner with Groupon to attract new customers and drive foot traffic, leveraging the platform's targeted marketing tools and large subscriber base to promote special offers and vouchers.

Founded in Chicago in 2008 by Andrew Mason, Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell, Groupon pioneered the daily-deals model, quickly growing its user community and merchant network.

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