Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Investors purchased 20,073 TAL call options, roughly 2,375% above the typical daily volume of 811 contracts.
• Institutional interest increased: Major investors including UBS Asset Management, Norges Bank, Arrowstreet Capital, National Bank of Canada and Bank of America added to or initiated positions; institutions now own 37.79% of the shares.
• Mixed analyst outlook: TAL reported quarterly earnings and revenue above expectations, but the stock carries a consensus “Hold” rating from analysts, with an average price target of $14.80.

TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors bought 20,073 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 2,375% compared to the typical daily volume of 811 call options.

Institutional Trading of TAL Education Group

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TAL Education Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $213,329,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of TAL Education Group in the 4th quarter valued at $49,158,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in TAL Education Group by 3,989.3% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,574,002 shares of the company's stock worth $51,229,000 after acquiring an additional 4,462,149 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in TAL Education Group by 147.4% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,559,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,870,000 after buying an additional 2,120,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in TAL Education Group by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 14,060,760 shares of the company's stock valued at $143,701,000 after purchasing an additional 1,759,945 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 37.79% of the company's stock.

TAL Education Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TAL traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $12.48. 4,955,747 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,893,749. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $9.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.76. TAL Education Group has a 1 year low of $8.88 and a 1 year high of $13.37. The firm has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.08.

TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.59. TAL Education Group had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 17.64%.The business had revenue of $758.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $719.40 million. On average, research analysts forecast that TAL Education Group will post 0.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TAL has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded TAL Education Group from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of TAL Education Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Zacks Research downgraded TAL Education Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on TAL Education Group in a research note on Friday. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, New Street Research set a $13.60 price objective on shares of TAL Education Group in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $14.80.

TAL Education Group Company Profile

TAL Education Group is a leading provider of after-school tutoring services in China, specializing in K-12 academic instruction. The company offers a range of programs designed to help primary and secondary school students strengthen their core competencies in subjects such as mathematics, English, Chinese language and science. TAL leverages both in-person learning centers and digital platforms to deliver its curriculum, aiming to support student progress through interactive lessons and personalized study plans.

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Beijing, TAL Education Group has grown into one of China's largest private education firms.

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