Investors Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Forward Industries (NASDAQ:FWDI)

Key Points

• Unusual bearish options activity: Investors bought 2,077 put options on Forward Industries, about 201% above its typical daily volume of 690 contracts.
• Mixed analyst outlook: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target to $16 and maintained an overweight rating, while overall analyst sentiment remains “Hold” with a consensus target of $12.50.
• Weak financial performance despite a rising share price: FWDI traded at $8.05, up $0.35, but reported a quarterly loss of $0.80 per share versus expectations of $0.04 and posted a negative net margin exceeding 2,000%.

Forward Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWDI - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors purchased 2,077 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 201% compared to the typical daily volume of 690 put options.

Institutional Trading of Forward Industries

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Forward Industries during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $88,000. Aristides Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Forward Industries in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $180,000. ParaFi Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Forward Industries in the second quarter valued at approximately $684,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Forward Industries in the second quarter valued at approximately $739,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Forward Industries from $8.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings raised Forward Industries from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Forward Industries from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 12th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Forward Industries in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Forward Industries presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $12.50.

Forward Industries Stock Performance

FWDI stock traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $8.05. 1,276,695 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,200,786. The company has a market cap of $594.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.27 and a beta of 0.88. Forward Industries has a 1-year low of $3.48 and a 1-year high of $33.00. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $5.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.75.

Forward Industries (NASDAQ:FWDI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.80) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.84). Forward Industries had a negative net margin of 2,073.82% and a negative return on equity of 18.05%. The company had revenue of $10.78 million during the quarter. On average, research analysts anticipate that Forward Industries will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Forward Industries Company Profile

Forward Industries, Inc NASDAQ: FWDI is a product design, development and manufacturing company that creates solutions for medical, industrial, consumer electronics and other specialized markets. The company is known for developing protective and carrying products, including custom cases, bags, backpacks and related accessories designed to support the transportation and use of electronic and technical equipment.

Forward Industries serves original equipment manufacturers, distributors and other business customers through customized product development and manufacturing programs.

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