ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:SQQQ)

Key Points

• Unusually high options activity: Traders bought 82,818 call options on SQQQ on Friday, roughly 36% above the average call volume, indicating elevated short-term speculative or hedging interest.
• Price and volume spike: SQQQ traded up 6.0% to $87.42 with about 59.8 million shares changing hands—above its average volume—and sits in a 52-week range of $61.72 to $289.00.
• Institutional flows: Multiple institutions added or raised stakes in SQQQ in Q4, notably Hamilton Wealth (up 1,087.5%) and Tower Research (up 1,636.9%), showing increased institutional involvement.

ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ (NASDAQ:SQQQ - ) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders acquired 82,818 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 36% compared to the average volume of 60,883 call options.

ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ Trading Up 6.0%

ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ stock traded up $4.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $87.42. 59,765,874 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 54,921,629. The firm's fifty day moving average is $71.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.56. ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ has a fifty-two week low of $61.72 and a fifty-two week high of $289.00.

ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 25th will be given a $0.6384 dividend. This represents a $2.55 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 25th.

Institutional Trading of ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQQQ. Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ in the fourth quarter valued at about $431,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ during the fourth quarter worth about $137,000. Hamilton Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ by 1,087.5% during the fourth quarter. Hamilton Wealth LLC now owns 118,754 shares of the company's stock worth $8,135,000 after purchasing an additional 108,754 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,322,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ by 1,636.9% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 41,217 shares of the company's stock worth $2,823,000 after buying an additional 38,844 shares during the period.

About ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ

ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ (the Fund) seeks daily investment results, which corresponds to three times the inverse of the daily performance of the NASDAQ-100 Index (the Index). The Index includes 100 of the non-financial domestic and international issues listed on National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation (NASDAQ) Stock Market. The Fund invests in derivatives. It also invests in short-term cash instruments, which have a remaining maturity of 397 days or less and exhibit high quality credit profiles.

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