Grab Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:GRAB)

Key Points

• Grab saw unusually high options activity, with 39,023 call options traded—38% above its average volume of 28,379 calls.
• Shares fell $0.17 to $3.08, near the company’s 52-week low of $3.07. Grab’s latest quarterly results modestly beat expectations, reporting $0.06 in EPS and $997 million in revenue.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $6.01 price target, although insiders sold 1.76 million shares worth about $6.4 million over the past three months.

Grab Holdings Limited (NASDAQ:GRAB - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 39,023 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 38% compared to the average volume of 28,379 call options.

Grab Stock Performance

NASDAQ GRAB traded down $0.17 on Wednesday, hitting $3.08. 49,065,871 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 48,528,195. The company has a market capitalization of $12.64 billion, a PE ratio of 51.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The business's fifty day moving average is $3.61 and its 200 day moving average is $3.68. Grab has a 52 week low of $3.07 and a 52 week high of $6.62.

Grab (NASDAQ:GRAB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $997.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $994.97 million. Grab had a return on equity of 8.83% and a net margin of 15.97%. Research analysts anticipate that Grab will post 0.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Grab news, COO Alexander Hungate sold 145,349 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.48, for a total value of $505,814.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 6,111,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,269,686.92. This trade represents a 2.32% 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. Also, CEO Ping Tan sold 400,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.62, for a total value of $1,448,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 428,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,551,162.76. This trade represents a 48.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 1,763,442 shares of company stock valued at $6,405,495 in the last three months. 3.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Grab

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Grab in the 4th quarter worth about $161,484,000. PointState Capital LP lifted its holdings in Grab by 411.1% during the fourth quarter. PointState Capital LP now owns 32,555,483 shares of the company's stock valued at $162,452,000 after purchasing an additional 26,186,329 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Grab by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 72,453,397 shares of the company's stock worth $361,542,000 after purchasing an additional 23,891,108 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Grab by 58.0% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 54,906,371 shares of the company's stock worth $200,957,000 after purchasing an additional 20,152,535 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Grab by 24.9% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 79,797,848 shares of the company's stock worth $480,383,000 after purchasing an additional 15,916,063 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GRAB shares. Zacks Research raised Grab from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Barclays cut their price objective on Grab from $7.00 to $5.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Grab from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Grab in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $6.25 target price on shares of Grab in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $6.01.

About Grab

Grab Holdings Inc is a Singapore-based technology company that operates a consumer-facing "super app" across Southeast Asia offering services spanning ride-hailing, food and package delivery, and digital payments. Its platform connects consumers, drivers, merchants and delivery partners through mobile applications and supports on-demand mobility (taxi and private car), last-mile logistics, and on-demand food delivery under brands such as GrabFood and GrabExpress. The company has also developed a merchant-facing ecosystem that supports ordering, payment acceptance and loyalty functions.

Beyond transportation and delivery, Grab has expanded into financial services through Grab Financial Group, which provides digital payments via GrabPay, consumer lending, insurance distribution and small-business financial solutions.

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