Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Amphenol Put Options (NYSE:APH)

Key Points

• Investors bought a heavy volume of puts on Amphenol—33,871 put options, a 267% increase over typical put volume—signaling heightened bearish bets or hedging activity.
• Amphenol posted Q1 EPS of $1.06 (vs. $1.05 expected) and revenue of $7.62B (slightly below estimates) with revenue up 58.4% YoY, and set Q2 guidance of 1.140–1.160 EPS.
• CEO Richard Norwitt sold 515,281 shares for about $75.9M, reducing his stake ~21%, while analysts keep a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $156.71 average price target.

Amphenol Corporation (NYSE:APH - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 33,871 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 267% compared to the typical volume of 9,229 put options.

Amphenol Price Performance

Amphenol stock traded up $9.53 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $153.25. 4,366,807 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,580,562. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 2.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $138.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.78. The company has a market cap of $188.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.79, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.25. Amphenol has a 52-week low of $74.31 and a 52-week high of $167.04.

Amphenol (NYSE:APH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The electronics maker reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $7.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.66 billion. Amphenol had a net margin of 18.49% and a return on equity of 35.57%. Amphenol's revenue for the quarter was up 58.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. Amphenol has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.140-1.160 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Amphenol will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Amphenol Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 23rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Amphenol's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on APH. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Amphenol in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a "buy" rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Amphenol from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Amphenol from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup increased their price target on Amphenol from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $183.00 price objective on shares of Amphenol in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Amphenol currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $156.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard Adam Norwitt sold 515,281 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.27, for a total transaction of $75,885,432.87. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,927,507 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $283,863,955.89. This represents a 21.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amphenol

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in APH. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR boosted its position in Amphenol by 86.1% during the first quarter. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR now owns 27,250 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $3,443,000 after buying an additional 12,605 shares during the period. Meitav Investment House Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Amphenol by 22.2% in the first quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 16,500 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $2,085,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Amphenol in the 1st quarter valued at about $572,000. Advance Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Amphenol by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Advance Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,068 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $893,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Signet Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Amphenol during the 1st quarter valued at about $372,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.01% of the company's stock.

Amphenol Company Profile

Amphenol Corporation NYSE: APH is a leading global manufacturer of electronic and fiber optic connectors, interconnect systems, and related components. The company designs, engineers and produces a broad range of products including electrical connectors, cable assemblies, fiber optic solutions, sensors, antennas and electromechanical devices used to transfer power, signal and data across complex systems. Its product portfolio spans ruggedized connectors for harsh environments to high-speed solutions for data centers and telecommunications networks.

Amphenol serves a diverse set of end markets, including automotive, broadband and telecom, data communications, mobile devices, industrial, energy, and military/aerospace.

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