CLEAR Secure (NYSE:YOU) Stock Sees Unusually High Call Option Buying

Key Points

• Unusually high options activity: Traders bought 3,048 CLEAR Secure call options, about 247% above the average daily volume of 879 contracts.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Recent downgrades and a reduced price target contributed to a consensus “Hold” rating, with an average target price of $58.29.
• Shares and fundamentals: The stock closed at $42.05, well below its 52-week high of $69.07, while the company exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates and reported 26.6% year-over-year revenue growth.

CLEAR Secure, Inc. (NYSE:YOU - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 3,048 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 247% compared to the average daily volume of 879 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

YOU has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded CLEAR Secure from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of CLEAR Secure from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of CLEAR Secure in a research report on Monday, August 24th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings cut shares of CLEAR Secure from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of CLEAR Secure from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.29.

CLEAR Secure Stock Performance

Shares of CLEAR Secure stock traded up $0.83 on Wednesday, hitting $42.05. 667,066 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,671,451. CLEAR Secure has a 52 week low of $29.43 and a 52 week high of $69.07. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $45.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.58 and a beta of 1.04.

CLEAR Secure (NYSE:YOU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $277.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $269.71 million. CLEAR Secure had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 71.51%. CLEAR Secure's revenue for the quarter was up 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that CLEAR Secure will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

CLEAR Secure Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 10th. CLEAR Secure's payout ratio is 40.82%.

Insider Transactions at CLEAR Secure

In related news, CAO Dennis Liu sold 2,104 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.47, for a total value of $93,564.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 15,870 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $705,738.90. This trade represents a 11.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, President Michael Barkin sold 11,444 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total transaction of $514,980.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 11,550 shares in the company, valued at $519,750. The trade was a 49.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 18,047 shares of company stock worth $808,615 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 29.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CLEAR Secure

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in YOU. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CLEAR Secure by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,578 shares of the company's stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in CLEAR Secure by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 23,206 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,293,000 after buying an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in CLEAR Secure by 3.6% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 12,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $617,000 after buying an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in CLEAR Secure by 6.9% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,564 shares of the company's stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspen Investment Management Inc grew its stake in shares of CLEAR Secure by 5.2% during the first quarter. Aspen Investment Management Inc now owns 10,175 shares of the company's stock worth $493,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 73.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CLEAR Secure

Clear Secure, Inc, operating under the CLEAR brand, is an identity technology company that provides secure, biometric-enabled services for verifying individuals. Its platform uses information such as biometrics and government-issued identification to create a reusable identity profile, helping members move through participating locations more efficiently while supporting organizations with identity verification and access control.

The company's consumer offering includes CLEAR Plus, a membership service that allows eligible travelers to use dedicated identity-verification lanes at participating airports.

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