Sirius XM Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:SIRI)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Investors bought 31,882 Sirius XM call options on Wednesday, about 92% above its normal call volume, suggesting elevated bullish interest.
• Shares near 1-year high: SIRI rose 1.7% to $30.06, just below its 52-week high of $30.32, while trading volume came in below average.
• Fundamentals and income remain mixed: The company recently beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, and it pays a $0.27 quarterly dividend yielding 3.6%, but analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold.

Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:SIRI - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 31,882 call options on the company. This is an increase of 92% compared to the typical volume of 16,617 call options.

Sirius XM Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of SIRI traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $30.06. The stock had a trading volume of 2,245,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,236,647. Sirius XM has a 1-year low of $19.76 and a 1-year high of $30.32. The company has a market cap of $10.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $27.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.80.

Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.02. Sirius XM had a net margin of 9.86% and a return on equity of 9.19%. The firm had revenue of $2.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. The company's revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Sirius XM will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sirius XM Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Sirius XM's payout ratio is currently 45.57%.

Insider Activity at Sirius XM

In related news, insider Scott Andrew Greenstein sold 20,744 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total value of $618,793.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 20,163 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $601,462.29. This trade represents a 50.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sirius XM

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SIRI. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in Sirius XM by 158.5% during the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,295 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in Sirius XM by 612.8% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195 shares during the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC boosted its stake in Sirius XM by 57.7% during the 4th quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 1,621 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 593 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Sirius XM in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its stake in Sirius XM by 36.7% during the first quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 1,553 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 10.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup restated a "sell" rating and issued a $22.00 target price (up from $19.00) on shares of Sirius XM in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Sirius XM from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Sirius XM from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price target on Sirius XM from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Evercore set a $28.00 price target on shares of Sirius XM in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sirius XM currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.45.

About Sirius XM

Sirius XM Holdings Inc is a leading audio entertainment company specializing in subscription-based satellite and streaming radio services. Formed in 2008 through the merger of Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio, the company delivers a broad range of programming across music, sports, news, talk and comedy channels. Sirius XM's offerings include exclusive live sports play-by-play, artist-curated music channels, news coverage from major networks and original talk and entertainment series.

Headquartered in New York City, Sirius XM serves listeners throughout the United States and Canada, reaching tens of millions of subscribers.

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