Investors Buy Large Volume of XP Put Options (NASDAQ:XP)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Traders purchased 23,738 put options on XP, about 11% above the stock’s average daily put volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive: Five analysts rate XP a Buy and two rate it Hold, resulting in a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $28.80. UBS and JPMorgan recently raised their targets to $37 and $38, respectively.
• Strong recent financial performance: XP beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $0.53 in EPS and $943.55 million in revenue, with revenue up 8.3% year over year. Shares closed at $28.99 after declining $1.43 during Thursday’s trading.

XP Inc. (NASDAQ:XP - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 23,738 put options on the company. This is an increase of 11% compared to the average daily volume of 21,350 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of XP from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Itau BBA Securities upgraded XP from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Weiss Ratings raised XP from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on XP from $25.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on XP from $26.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, XP presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $28.80.

XP Price Performance

XP stock traded down $1.43 during trading on Thursday, reaching $28.99. 4,765,503 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,697,627. The company has a 50-day moving average of $21.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.96. The company has a market capitalization of $15.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.01. XP has a twelve month low of $14.80 and a twelve month high of $32.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 4.80 and a quick ratio of 4.80.

XP (NASDAQ:XP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 17th. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $943.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $935.15 million. XP had a net margin of 27.20% and a return on equity of 22.19%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that XP will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Bruno Constantino Alexandre dos Santos sold 123,257 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.58, for a total transaction of $2,413,372.06. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,500,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,370,000. This trade represents a 7.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On XP

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of XP during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,071,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in XP by 244.9% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 206,689 shares of the company's stock worth $3,935,000 after acquiring an additional 146,763 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its stake in XP by 94.1% during the second quarter. National Pension Service now owns 207,699 shares of the company's stock worth $3,377,000 after acquiring an additional 100,677 shares in the last quarter. Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A. acquired a new stake in XP in the first quarter worth $3,216,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in XP by 44.9% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 209,252 shares of the company's stock worth $3,984,000 after purchasing an additional 64,829 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 59.15% of the company's stock.

XP Company Profile

XP Inc is a Brazilian financial services company that operates a technology-driven investment and financial products platform. Through its digital channels and network of advisors, the company offers access to products including stocks, bonds, investment funds, exchange-traded funds, insurance and retirement products. It serves individual investors, businesses, institutional clients and independent financial advisors.

The company's principal brands and businesses include XP, Rico and Clear, which provide brokerage and investment services to different customer segments.

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