Medtronic Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:MDT)

Key Points

• Medtronic saw unusually heavy options activity on Thursday, with traders buying 18,438 call options — about 75% above its typical daily volume. That suggests some investors are positioning for further upside after the recent move.
• The company posted stronger-than-expected fiscal Q4 results, reporting revenue of $9.81 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.55, both ahead of estimates. Revenue rose 9.9% year over year, helped by a 78% jump in Cardiac Ablation Solutions sales globally.
• Despite the solid quarter, guidance and analyst sentiment were mixed: Medtronic’s FY2027 EPS outlook of $5.90 to $6.00 came in below consensus, and several firms trimmed price targets. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.72 per share, reinforcing shareholder-return support.

Medtronic PLC (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 18,438 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 75% compared to the typical daily volume of 10,557 call options.

More Medtronic News

Here are the key news stories impacting Medtronic this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Medtronic reported Q4 revenue of $9.81 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.55, both ahead of Wall Street estimates, with revenue up 9.9% year over year. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company said Cardiac Ablation Solutions revenue jumped 78% globally, helping drive Medtronic’s strongest annual revenue growth in 10 years and reinforcing confidence in its growth pipeline. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Medtronic raised its quarterly dividend to $0.72 per share, signaling management confidence and adding support for income-focused investors. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: TD Cowen and RBC reiterated bullish ratings with high price targets, which supports sentiment, while multiple firms still see meaningful upside in the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Medtronic also submitted FDA filings to expand its Hugo robotic-assisted surgery system into more U.S. procedures, a longer-term growth catalyst for the surgical business. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms lowered price targets, including JPMorgan, Piper Sandler, Truist, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Leerink, and Robert W. Baird, reflecting caution around valuation and near-term outlook. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Medtronic’s FY2027 EPS guidance of $5.90 to $6.00 came in below the consensus estimate of $6.06, which may be limiting upside despite the strong quarter. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Unusual call buying in MDT options suggests some traders are positioning for more gains after the earnings-driven rally. Article Title

Institutional Trading of Medtronic

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Curbstone Financial Management Corp increased its position in Medtronic by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 5,594 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $537,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Medtronic by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Ipsen Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,952 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Medtronic by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 32,477 shares of the medical technology company's stock worth $3,120,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Medtronic by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,221 shares of the medical technology company's stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on MDT. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Medtronic from $120.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their target price on Medtronic from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Evercore set a $106.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Medtronic from $117.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Thursday. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.70.

Medtronic Trading Up 4.1%

MDT traded up $3.20 on Thursday, reaching $81.15. 7,998,631 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,133,624. The company has a market cap of $104.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Medtronic has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $106.33. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.21.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 3rd. The medical technology company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $9.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.62 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 14.82%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. Medtronic has set its FY 2027 guidance at 5.900-6.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Medtronic will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. This is an increase from Medtronic's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Medtronic's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.11%.

Medtronic Company Profile

Medtronic plc is a global medical technology company that develops and manufactures a broad range of therapeutic devices and health care solutions. Headquartered legally in Ireland with principal operational offices in the United States, the company markets products to hospitals, physicians and health systems worldwide and has grown from its founding in 1949 into one of the largest medical-device manufacturers serving global health-care markets.

Medtronic's offerings span several clinical areas, including cardiac rhythm and heart failure (pacemakers, implantable cardioverter‑defibrillators and related cardiac therapies), minimally invasive and surgical technologies (laparoscopic and advanced energy devices, visualization systems and surgical innovations), restorative therapies (spine and orthopedics, neuromodulation and neurovascular treatments) and diabetes management (insulin-delivery systems and glucose monitoring solutions).

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