Celestica Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CLS)

Key Points

• Options activity surged: Investors bought 18,233 Celestica call options, 23% above the average volume.
• Shares rose 4.8% to $254.63 on Thursday. In its latest quarter, Celestica reported EPS of $3.30 and revenue of $5.74 billion, beating analyst estimates for both.
• Analysts maintain a consensus Buy rating with a $445.14 average price target, while the CEO and company president recently sold shares.

Celestica, Inc. (NYSE:CLS - Get Free Report) TSE: CLS saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 18,233 call options on the company. This is an increase of 23% compared to the average volume of 14,876 call options.

Celestica Stock Up 4.8%

Shares of CLS traded up $11.71 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $254.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,193,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,532,676. The firm has a market cap of $32.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 2.10. Celestica has a 1-year low of $197.50 and a 1-year high of $474.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $313.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $328.12.

Celestica (NYSE:CLS - Get Free Report) TSE: CLS last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The technology company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.28. Celestica had a net margin of 6.83% and a return on equity of 33.80%. The business had revenue of $5.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.39 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Celestica will post 10.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Todd Cooper sold 20,118 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total transaction of $7,242,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 73,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,370,720. This represents a 21.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert Mionis sold 23,396 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $364.22, for a total value of $8,521,291.12. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Celestica

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Celestica during the 2nd quarter worth about $757,811,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Celestica in the second quarter worth approximately $674,199,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Celestica in the second quarter worth approximately $444,899,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Celestica during the second quarter valued at approximately $351,717,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Celestica during the second quarter valued at approximately $333,588,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Celestica from $455.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Celestica in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Celestica in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Celestica from $495.00 to $340.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "conviction-buy" rating and set a $435.00 price objective on shares of Celestica in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Celestica has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $445.14.

About Celestica

Celestica Inc. is a global provider of design, manufacturing, and supply chain services for companies across technology and industrial markets. Its work spans product development, engineering, manufacturing, testing, and ongoing product support. The company's offerings include hardware and infrastructure used in cloud computing and data centers, communications networks, aerospace and defense, industrial equipment, and health technology. It also provides supply chain management and other services to support products throughout their lifecycle.

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