Itau Unibanco Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:ITUB)

Key Points

• Put-option activity surged: Traders acquired 8,017 put options in Itaú Unibanco, roughly 1,133% above the average volume of 650 contracts.
• Insider selling was reported: Insider Vanzo Orestes sold 60,000 shares for approximately $494,400, reducing his position by 5.62%; insiders own 0.61% of the company.
• Analysts remain moderately bullish: JPMorgan raised its price target to $10 and maintained an overweight rating, contributing to a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, despite the bank slightly missing quarterly EPS and revenue estimates.

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. (NYSE:ITUB - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 8,017 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,133% compared to the average volume of 650 put options.

Insider Activity

In other Itau Unibanco news, insider Vanzo Orestes sold 60,000 shares of Itau Unibanco stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.24, for a total transaction of $494,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,008,014 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,306,035.36. The trade was a 5.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Itau Unibanco

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 10,895 shares of the bank's stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092 shares in the last quarter. Gould Asset Management LLC CA lifted its stake in shares of Itau Unibanco by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Gould Asset Management LLC CA now owns 40,777 shares of the bank's stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Itau Unibanco by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,441 shares of the bank's stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Itau Unibanco by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 46,666 shares of the bank's stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 1,357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR increased its position in shares of Itau Unibanco by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 40,445 shares of the bank's stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,433 shares during the last quarter.

Itau Unibanco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ITUB traded up $0.15 on Tuesday, reaching $8.30. 11,287,090 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,882,834. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.44. The firm has a market cap of $91.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56. Itau Unibanco has a 1-year low of $6.54 and a 1-year high of $9.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $8.02 and a 200-day moving average of $8.22.

Itau Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The bank reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.29 billion. Itau Unibanco had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 21.40%. Equities analysts forecast that Itau Unibanco will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Itau Unibanco from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Itau Unibanco from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Itau Unibanco currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $10.00.

About Itau Unibanco

Itaú Unibanco SA NYSE: ITUB is a Brazilian banking and financial services conglomerate headquartered in São Paulo. The company was formed by the merger of Banco Itaú and Unibanco in 2008 and is one of the largest private-sector banks in Brazil and among the leading banks in Latin America. Itaú Unibanco is publicly listed in Brazil and maintains an international listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

The bank offers a full range of financial products and services across retail, commercial and wholesale banking.

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