Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP)

Key Points

• PepsiCo saw a significant increase in call options trading, with 93,376 call options traded on Thursday, up 102% from its typical volume.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on PepsiCo's stock, with seven buy ratings, fourteen hold ratings, and one sell rating, contributing to a consensus price target of $156.58.
• PepsiCo recently reported a quarterly EPS of $2.29, beating estimates, and had a revenue increase of 2.7% year-over-year to $23.94 billion.

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders acquired 93,376 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 102% compared to the typical daily volume of 46,279 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PEP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on PepsiCo from $157.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $146.00 to $145.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $156.58.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PepsiCo

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PEP. Claris Advisors LLC MO boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 14.1% during the second quarter. Claris Advisors LLC MO now owns 2,490 shares of the company's stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 4.6% during the second quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 5,169 shares of the company's stock worth $683,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 4.2% during the first quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 3,773 shares of the company's stock worth $566,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 46.4% during the second quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 114,344 shares of the company's stock worth $15,098,000 after buying an additional 36,239 shares during the period. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 2.5% during the second quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 25,309 shares of the company's stock worth $3,342,000 after buying an additional 620 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.07% of the company's stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ PEP traded down $1.74 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $151.29. The company had a trading volume of 1,629,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,341,324. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.91. PepsiCo has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $174.00. The company has a market cap of $206.86 billion, a PE ratio of 28.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50 day moving average of $145.89 and a 200-day moving average of $139.49.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 9th. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.03. PepsiCo had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 57.58%. The company had revenue of $23.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. PepsiCo's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. PepsiCo has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.120-8.120 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that PepsiCo will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo, Inc engages in the manufacture, marketing, distribution, and sale of various beverages and convenient foods worldwide. The company operates through seven segments: Frito-Lay North America; Quaker Foods North America; PepsiCo Beverages North America; Latin America; Europe; Africa, Middle East and South Asia; and Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand and China Region.

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