Investors Purchase High Volume of WisdomTree Call Options (NYSE:WT)

Key Points

• WisdomTree call-option activity surged: Investors purchased 10,831 call options, roughly 1,040% above the average daily volume of 950.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Recent price targets range from $21 to $27, while the overall consensus rating is “Hold” with a $23.66 target.
• Recent financial results exceeded expectations: WisdomTree reported quarterly EPS of $0.31 versus a $0.26 estimate, with revenue up 57.3% year over year to $177.16 million.

WisdomTree, Inc. (NYSE:WT - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 10,831 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,040% compared to the average daily volume of 950 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WT. Zacks Research lowered shares of WisdomTree from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $21.00 price target on shares of WisdomTree in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Northland Securities upped their price objective on shares of WisdomTree from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded WisdomTree from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on WisdomTree from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $23.66.

WisdomTree Stock Down 1.1%

WT traded down $0.27 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $24.16. The company had a trading volume of 1,155,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,284,645. WisdomTree has a 1-year low of $10.69 and a 1-year high of $25.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 2.73. The company has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a PE ratio of 46.48 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50-day moving average of $21.43 and a 200-day moving average of $18.60.

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.05. WisdomTree had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 39.12%. The company had revenue of $177.16 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.18 EPS. The company's revenue was up 57.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that WisdomTree will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

WisdomTree Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. WisdomTree's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.08%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nykredit A S bought a new position in WisdomTree during the second quarter worth $27,000. Team Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in WisdomTree during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of WisdomTree by 163.0% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,454 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of WisdomTree by 1,679.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,206 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 2,082 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quattro Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of WisdomTree in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.64% of the company's stock.

WisdomTree Company Profile

WisdomTree Investments, Inc NYSE: WT is a U.S.-based asset management firm specializing in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded products (ETPs). Founded in 2006 by Jonathan Steinberg and headquartered in New York City, WisdomTree has developed a reputation for pioneering smart-beta and fundamentally weighted indexing approaches. The company designs strategies that seek to enhance returns and reduce volatility by weighting constituents based on dividends, earnings or other financial metrics rather than relying solely on market capitalization.

WisdomTree offers a broad suite of investment products covering equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities and digital assets.

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