Traders Buy High Volume of KE Call Options (NYSE:BEKE)

Key Points

• Unusually heavy options activity: Investors bought 7,199 BEKE call options, approximately 242% above the typical daily volume of 2,105 contracts.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish: KE has a consensus “Buy” rating, with one Strong Buy, six Buy, and one Hold rating; the average price target is $23.64 versus a recent price of $16.95.
• Recent results exceeded expectations: KE reported quarterly EPS of $0.42, topping the $0.31 consensus estimate, while revenue of $3.61 billion also exceeded forecasts. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.34% of the company.

KE Holdings Inc. Sponsored ADR (NYSE:BEKE - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Investors bought 7,199 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 242% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,105 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BEKE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of KE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of KE in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of KE in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of KE in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, CLSA started coverage on KE in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $23.80 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $23.64.

KE Stock Performance

Shares of BEKE stock traded up $0.26 on Friday, reaching $16.95. The stock had a trading volume of 2,330,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,481,109. KE has a 12 month low of $13.81 and a 12 month high of $20.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of -0.26. The firm's 50-day moving average is $16.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.54. The company has a quick ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 3.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

KE (NYSE:BEKE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 21st. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.11. KE had a return on equity of 7.62% and a net margin of 5.38%.The company had revenue of $3.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.59 billion. On average, research analysts expect that KE will post 0.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KE

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BEKE. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in KE by 73.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 467,520 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,392,000 after buying an additional 197,734 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of KE by 21.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,011 shares of the company's stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 1,797 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of KE in the first quarter valued at about $44,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of KE in the second quarter valued at about $116,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in KE by 197.8% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,421,452 shares of the company's stock worth $42,957,000 after acquiring an additional 1,608,207 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.34% of the company's stock.

About KE

KE Holdings Inc, operating under the brand name Beike, is a China-based platform that provides residential real estate transaction and related services. The company connects home buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants with real estate agents and brokerage stores through its online and offline network.

Its services include existing-home sales, new-home sales, residential rentals and property-related services. Beike also provides technology and data tools for real estate professionals, including digital listings, transaction support and virtual-reality viewing capabilities.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.