Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on KE (NYSE:BEKE)

Key Points

• Investors showed significant interest in KE Holdings Inc., purchasing 51,356 call options on Monday, a 372% increase from its typical daily volume.
• Analyst ratings for KE have varied recently, with JPMorgan dropping their target price from $24.00 to $22.00 while UBS upgraded it from "neutral" to "buy," now setting a price target of $23.00.
• KE Holdings has a market capitalization of $22.42 billion and its stock traded up 1.6% to $18.83 during recent trading sessions.

KE Holdings Inc. Sponsored ADR (NYSE:BEKE - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 51,356 call options on the company. Thisrepresentsanincreaseof372% compared to the typical daily volume of 10,885 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BEKE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of KE from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. UBS Group upgraded shares of KE from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $22.10 to $23.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays dropped their price objective on KE from $33.00 to $25.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Citigroup reduced their target price on KE from $25.80 to $24.80 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered KE from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $24.97.

KE Trading Up 1.6%

BEKE stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $18.83. 10,796,515 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,566,465. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $18.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of -0.76. KE has a 12-month low of $13.28 and a 12-month high of $26.05.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KE

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in KE by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 741,494 shares of the company's stock worth $14,897,000 after acquiring an additional 87,659 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in KE by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 123,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,489,000 after buying an additional 15,802 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in KE during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of KE by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,331,813 shares of the company's stock worth $508,916,000 after acquiring an additional 919,420 shares during the period. Finally, Myriad Asset Management US LP bought a new position in shares of KE in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,168,000. 39.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About KE

KE Holdings Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in operating an integrated online and offline platform for housing transactions and services in the People's Republic of China. It operates through four segments: Existing Home Transaction Services, New Home Transaction Services, Home Renovation and Furnishing, and Emerging and Other Services.

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