Vail Resorts (NYSE:MTN) Stock Sees Heavy Put Option Buying

Key Points

• Put-option activity surged in Vail Resorts, with traders buying 4,660 put options—about 499% above the average daily volume—signaling increased bearish or hedging interest.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.9% of MTN, while several firms recently initiated small positions in the company.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the stock carries a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $147.46, compared with its recent price of $136.29.

Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:MTN - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 4,660 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 499% compared to the average daily volume of 778 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Vail Resorts in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Vail Resorts during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in Vail Resorts during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Union Savings Bank bought a new stake in Vail Resorts during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Vail Resorts during the 1st quarter worth approximately $54,000. 94.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MTN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Vail Resorts from $212.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Vail Resorts from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $151.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Vail Resorts from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Vail Resorts from $167.00 to $161.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Vail Resorts from $134.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $147.46.

Vail Resorts Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MTN traded up $0.18 during trading on Monday, reaching $136.29. 380,423 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 811,004. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.22, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Vail Resorts has a 1-year low of $118.51 and a 1-year high of $163.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $144.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.90. The firm has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.44 and a beta of 0.69.

About Vail Resorts

Vail Resorts, Inc is a mountain resort company that operates a portfolio of ski and summer resorts, primarily in the United States, Canada and Australia. Its properties offer skiing, snowboarding and other outdoor recreational activities, along with lodging, dining, retail, equipment rentals, lessons and related guest services.

The company's resort portfolio includes well-known destinations such as Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone in Colorado; Park City in Utah; Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia; and Perisher in New South Wales, Australia.

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