Better Home & Finance Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:BETR)

Key Points

• Options activity surged: Traders purchased 2,171 BETR call options, 219% above the average daily volume of 681 calls.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but moderately positive: BETR has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $28.17, although Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded the stock to “neutral” and lowered its target to $16.
• The stock faces significant financial and performance challenges: Shares closed at $14.30, well below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, while the company reported a quarterly loss of $1.64 per share and negative net margins of 94.52%.

Better Home & Finance Holding Company (NASDAQ:BETR - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock traders acquired 2,171 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 219% compared to the average daily volume of 681 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Better Home & Finance

In related news, insider Chad M. Smith sold 3,307 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.85, for a total value of $42,494.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 1,693 shares in the company, valued at $21,755.05. The trade was a 66.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Hugh R. Frater acquired 5,150 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $24.34 per share, for a total transaction of $125,351.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 6,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $153,974.84. This represents a 437.93% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 27.72% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Better Home & Finance

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Comerica Bank bought a new position in Better Home & Finance in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,819,000. Mangrove Partners IM LLC acquired a new position in Better Home & Finance during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $623,000. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new stake in Better Home & Finance during the first quarter worth $1,460,000. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Better Home & Finance by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 82,409 shares of the company's stock worth $2,685,000 after purchasing an additional 27,356 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Better Home & Finance by 1,686.9% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,468 shares of the company's stock valued at $178,000 after purchasing an additional 5,162 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 20.94% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on BETR. Zacks Research raised shares of Better Home & Finance to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Better Home & Finance from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $16.00 in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Better Home & Finance in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Better Home & Finance from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Northland Securities upgraded shares of Better Home & Finance from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $28.17.

Better Home & Finance Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BETR traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $14.30. The company had a trading volume of 188,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 503,503. Better Home & Finance has a one year low of $11.11 and a one year high of $94.06. The firm has a market cap of $271.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.30 and a beta of 1.73. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $21.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.37.

Better Home & Finance (NASDAQ:BETR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($1.64) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.41) by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $54.70 million for the quarter. Better Home & Finance had a negative return on equity of 409.62% and a negative net margin of 94.52%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Better Home & Finance will post -6.56 EPS for the current year.

About Better Home & Finance

Better Home & Finance Holding Co engages in the provision of comprehensive homeownership services. It offers mortgage loans, real estate agent services, and title and homeowner's insurance services. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

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