StoneCo Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:STNE)

Key Points

• StoneCo saw unusually heavy options activity: Traders purchased 7,893 call options, 271% above the typical daily volume of 2,126.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Four analysts rate the stock Buy and six rate it Hold, resulting in an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $14.30. Several firms recently lowered their targets.
• Shares fell 1.2% to $10.18, near the company’s 52-week low, despite StoneCo slightly exceeding quarterly EPS expectations. An insider also sold 21,000 shares, while institutional investors own 73.19% of the stock.

StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders acquired 7,893 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 271% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,126 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on STNE shares. BTIG Research lowered their target price on shares of StoneCo from $22.00 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of StoneCo in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. They issued a "hold" rating and a $12.60 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded StoneCo from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Bank of America lowered shares of StoneCo from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $13.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on StoneCo from $20.00 to $16.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $14.30.

StoneCo Stock Down 1.2%

NASDAQ STNE traded down $0.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $10.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,359,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,346,711. The company has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a PE ratio of 4.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.75. StoneCo has a fifty-two week low of $9.08 and a fifty-two week high of $19.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $10.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.88.

StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.01. StoneCo had a net margin of 22.92% and a return on equity of 22.19%. The firm had revenue of $129.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.24 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that StoneCo will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at StoneCo

In related news, Director Silvio Morais sold 21,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.91, for a total value of $208,110.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 11.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On StoneCo

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in StoneCo in the 1st quarter worth $902,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of StoneCo in the first quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of StoneCo by 37.4% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 28,075 shares of the company's stock worth $450,000 after acquiring an additional 7,635 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of StoneCo by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 256,142 shares of the company's stock worth $4,109,000 after buying an additional 19,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of StoneCo by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 13,995 shares of the company's stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.19% of the company's stock.

StoneCo Company Profile

StoneCo Ltd., commonly known as Stone, is a Brazilian financial technology company that provides integrated digital payment solutions and related financial services to merchants. Through its cloud-based platform, Stone enables businesses of all sizes to accept a variety of payment methods, including point-of-sale (POS) terminals, mobile card readers and e-commerce gateways. In addition to payment acceptance, the company offers value-added services such as working capital loans, digital banking products and automated billing tools designed to help merchants manage cash flow and streamline operations.

Since its founding in 2012 by André Street and Eduardo Pontes, Stone has focused on serving over half a million merchants across Brazil's retail, restaurant and services sectors.

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