Children's Place Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:PLCE)

Key Points

• On Monday, Children's Place experienced a 71% increase in call options trading volume, with 4,650 options acquired compared to an average of 2,722.
• Despite recent trading optimism, analysts have downgraded Children's Place's stock rating, with UBS lowering its price target from $7.00 to $6.00 and suggesting a "neutral" stance.
• Children's Place reported a quarterly EPS of ($0.15), missing expectations, but had revenue of $298.01 million, exceeding projected figures.

The Children's Place, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLCE - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors bought 4,650 call options on the company. This is an increase of 71% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,722 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Children's Place from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Children's Place from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $7.00.

Children's Place Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PLCE traded down $0.35 during trading on Friday, hitting $6.98. 919,867 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 841,231. The company has a market cap of $154.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.12 and a beta of 2.02. Children's Place has a 1 year low of $3.66 and a 1 year high of $19.74. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $5.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 75.63, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.14.

Children's Place (NASDAQ:PLCE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, September 5th. The company reported ($0.15) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.05). Children's Place had a negative return on equity of 10.32% and a negative net margin of 2.04%.The company had revenue of $298.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $289.41 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 earnings per share.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Children's Place

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Shay Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Children's Place by 897.1% in the 2nd quarter. Shay Capital LLC now owns 308,322 shares of the company's stock worth $1,366,000 after buying an additional 277,401 shares in the last quarter. Oxford Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Children's Place in the 2nd quarter worth about $178,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Children's Place by 372.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 39,897 shares of the company's stock worth $177,000 after buying an additional 31,458 shares in the last quarter. Murchinson Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Children's Place by 96.9% in the 2nd quarter. Murchinson Ltd. now owns 59,983 shares of the company's stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 29,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Immersion Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Children's Place in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,530,000.

About Children's Place

The Children's Place, Inc engages in the provision of apparel, footwear, accessories, and other items for children. The firm also designs contracts to manufacture and sell fashionable and value-priced merchandise under the brand names of The Children's Place, Baby Place, and Gymboree. It operates through The Children's Place U.S.