Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Sabre Put Options (NASDAQ:SABR)

Key Points

• Unusually heavy bearish options activity: Investors purchased 20,018 Sabre put options, roughly 1,938% above the typical daily volume of 982 contracts.
• Mixed analyst outlook: Weiss Ratings downgraded Sabre to “sell,” while Citigroup reaffirmed “buy.” Overall, analysts’ consensus rating remains “Hold,” with a $1.75 price target.
• Shares and earnings showed pressure: Sabre stock fell $0.12 to $2.15, while its latest quarterly loss of $0.17 per share missed expectations of $0.04, despite revenue exceeding estimates.

Sabre Corporation (NASDAQ:SABR - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 20,018 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,938% compared to the typical daily volume of 982 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on SABR. Weiss Ratings cut Sabre from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Sabre in a report on Thursday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1.75.

Sabre Price Performance

Shares of SABR stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $2.15. 5,174,056 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,888,870. The firm has a market capitalization of $865.69 million, a P/E ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.00. Sabre has a 52-week low of $0.81 and a 52-week high of $2.30. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $2.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.77.

Sabre (NASDAQ:SABR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The information technology services provider reported ($0.17) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $711.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $697.40 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sabre will post -0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sabre

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sabre during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in Sabre during the second quarter worth $31,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in Sabre during the second quarter worth $31,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Sabre during the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sabre during the first quarter worth $25,000. 89.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Sabre

Sabre Corporation is a leading travel technology company that provides software, data, mobile and distribution solutions to the global travel industry. Through its Sabre travel marketplace, the company operates one of the world's principal global distribution systems (GDS), connecting travel buyers and suppliers across airlines, hotels, car rental companies and other travel providers. Sabre's suite of products includes reservation and ticketing systems for travel agencies, comprehensive airline operations and passenger services solutions, as well as hospitality property management and central reservation systems for hotels.

Established in 1960 as a joint venture between American Airlines and IBM, Sabre introduced one of the first computerized airline reservation systems, pioneering the automation of ticketing and inventory control.

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