Hut 8 Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:HUT)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Traders bought 35,812 Hut 8 call options, approximately 57% above the typical volume of 22,823 contracts.
• Insider selling continued: CFO Sean Glennan sold shares worth about $508,000 to cover tax withholding, while Director Mayo Shattuck sold 20,000 shares for $2 million. Corporate insiders own 10.40% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: Hut 8 has a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $148.09, despite its shares falling to $61.75 and the company reporting a larger-than-expected quarterly loss.

Hut 8 Corp. (NASDAQ:HUT - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders bought 35,812 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 57% compared to the typical volume of 22,823 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hut 8 news, CFO Sean Glennan sold 6,445 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.76, for a total value of $507,608.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 17,978 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,415,947.28. This represents a 26.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Mayo Shattuck, III sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $2,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 89,408 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,940,800. This represents a 18.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 10.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hut 8

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Hut 8 by 0.5% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 27,320 shares of the company's stock worth $3,154,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Hut 8 by 42.1% during the second quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its position in shares of Hut 8 by 175.0% during the second quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 275 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Hut 8 by 18.5% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,364 shares of the company's stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Hut 8 by 35.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the company's stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 31.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on HUT shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Hut 8 from $273.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Weiss Ratings cut Hut 8 from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Hut 8 in a report on Thursday, September 17th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $175.00 target price on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on Hut 8 in a research report on Monday, September 21st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $96.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Benchmark boosted their price target on Hut 8 from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hut 8 currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $148.09.

Hut 8 Price Performance

NASDAQ:HUT traded down $2.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $61.75. 2,690,221 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,948,364. The company has a market cap of $7.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.33 and a beta of 4.62. Hut 8 has a 1 year low of $31.67 and a 1 year high of $140.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $86.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.14. The company has a quick ratio of 19.35, a current ratio of 19.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.22.

Hut 8 (NASDAQ:HUT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($1.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.55) by ($0.72). The firm had revenue of $74.93 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $79.37 million. Hut 8 had a negative return on equity of 0.97% and a negative net margin of 188.59%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.18 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hut 8 will post -2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Hut 8

Hut 8 Corp. is a North American energy infrastructure and computing company whose business includes digital asset mining, high-performance computing and data center operations. The company develops and manages power and infrastructure assets intended to support energy-intensive computing applications.

Hut 8's activities have historically centered on Bitcoin mining, supported by company-operated data centers and specialized mining equipment. It also provides infrastructure for emerging computing applications, including artificial intelligence and other high-performance computing workloads, as it seeks to expand beyond cryptocurrency mining.

The company was established in Canada and expanded its operations in the United States through its combination with U.S.

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