Stagwell (NASDAQ:STGW) Stock Sees Heavy Call Option Buying

Key Points

• Call-option activity surged: Traders bought 19,186 Stagwell call options, roughly 3,500% above the typical volume of 533 contracts.
• Analysts remain broadly positive: Stagwell has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $10.17, with recent targets raised to $10 and $13.
• Operating performance improved: Quarterly revenue rose 11.2% year over year to $786.31 million, while adjusted earnings of $0.25 per share exceeded estimates of $0.19. Shares traded at $9.21, near their 12-month high of $9.64.

Stagwell Inc. (NASDAQ:STGW - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 19,186 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 3,500% compared to the typical volume of 533 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Stagwell from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Stagwell from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Stagwell in a report on Monday, October 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $13.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Stagwell from $8.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Stagwell from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, October 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $10.17.

Stagwell Price Performance

Shares of Stagwell stock traded up $0.35 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $9.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,236,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,603,265. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11. Stagwell has a 12-month low of $4.28 and a 12-month high of $9.64. The company has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 153.58 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $8.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.52.

Stagwell (NASDAQ:STGW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.06. Stagwell had a return on equity of 27.30% and a net margin of 0.53%. The firm had revenue of $786.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $754.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. Stagwell's quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. Stagwell has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.030-1.170 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Stagwell will post 0.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Stagwell

In other news, insider Frank Lanuto sold 62,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.46, for a total transaction of $524,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 491,977 shares in the company, valued at $4,162,125.42. This represents a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 11.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Stagwell

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in STGW. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Stagwell during the second quarter worth about $52,000. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new position in Stagwell in the second quarter valued at about $117,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in Stagwell by 34.7% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 20,014 shares of the company's stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 5,155 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stagwell during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new stake in shares of Stagwell during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 35.61% of the company's stock.

Stagwell Company Profile

Stagwell Inc NASDAQ: STGW is a global marketing and communications network that provides services to businesses, government organizations and other institutions. The company combines creative, media, digital transformation, public relations, strategic consulting, consumer insights and data-driven marketing capabilities through a network of specialized agencies.

Its services include brand strategy and development, advertising, media planning and buying, public affairs, corporate communications, public relations, social media, technology consulting, website and product design, customer experience and analytics.

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