Investors Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR)

Key Points

• On Friday, traders bought 4,600 put options for Equinor ASA, representing an 80% increase over the average daily volume.
• Equinor ASA reported earnings of $0.64 per share, missing analyst expectations of $0.66, despite stronger-than-expected revenue of $25.12 billion.
• Recent rating downgrades from several analysts have led to a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $22.71 for the stock.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders purchased 4,600 put options on the company. Thisisanincreaseof80% compared to the average daily volume of 2,552 put options.

Equinor ASA Price Performance

NYSE:EQNR traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.68. The stock had a trading volume of 993,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,159,199. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.66 billion, a PE ratio of 8.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.37. Equinor ASA has a 12 month low of $21.41 and a 12 month high of $28.26.

Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $25.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.88 billion. Equinor ASA had a net margin of 7.60% and a return on equity of 16.91%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Equinor ASA will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EQNR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "sector perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Equinor ASA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley cut Equinor ASA from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $22.70 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, May 12th. Pareto Securities cut Equinor ASA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, UBS Group cut Equinor ASA from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.71.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Equinor ASA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Equinor ASA by 1.9% in the second quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 23,101 shares of the company's stock worth $581,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 5.2% during the second quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,544 shares of the company's stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 2.2% during the second quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 21,603 shares of the company's stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 4.5% during the first quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 12,236 shares of the company's stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equinor ASA by 10.9% during the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,618 shares of the company's stock worth $149,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. 5.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Equinor ASA

Equinor ASA, an energy company, engages in the exploration, production, transportation, refining, and marketing of petroleum and other forms of energy in Norway and internationally. It operates through Exploration & Production Norway; Exploration & Production International; Exploration & Production USA; Marketing, Midstream & Processing; Renewables; and Other segments.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.