Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Vodafone Group (NASDAQ:VOD)

Key Points

• Unusually large options activity: Investors purchased 7,275 call options on Vodafone, about a 102% increase versus the stock's average daily call volume.
• Institutional buying: Several funds (including Kathmere Capital, QRG Capital, KeyBank and others) increased their stakes in the first quarter, leaving institutional ownership at about 7.84%.
• Analyst view and stock snapshot: Multiple upgrades have been issued but the consensus rating is still "Hold" with an average target of $72; shares traded at $15.83 midday, within a one‑year range of $8.98–$15.94.

Vodafone Group PLC (NASDAQ:VOD - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 7,275 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 102% compared to the average daily volume of 3,607 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vodafone Group by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 28,513 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $428,000 after acquiring an additional 2,472 shares during the period. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new stake in Vodafone Group in the first quarter worth about $156,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vodafone Group by 22.4% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 259,010 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $3,890,000 after buying an additional 47,391 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in Vodafone Group by 55.7% in the 1st quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 35,953 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 12,858 shares during the period. Finally, Bayban raised its holdings in Vodafone Group by 6,696.7% during the first quarter. Bayban now owns 2,039 shares of the cell phone carrier's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 2,009 shares during the period. 7.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vodafone Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VOD traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $15.83. 1,607,093 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,383,079. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $15.11 and a 200 day moving average of $13.76. Vodafone Group has a 1 year low of $8.98 and a 1 year high of $15.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VOD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vodafone Group from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Vodafone Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Vodafone Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Vodafone Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.00.

Vodafone Group Company Profile

Vodafone Group plc is a British multinational telecommunications company headquartered in London. It provides a wide range of communications services to consumer and enterprise customers, including mobile voice and data, fixed-line broadband, cable and pay-TV, and wholesale network services. The company also offers business-oriented solutions such as cloud and hosting, managed networks, unified communications, and Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity and platform services.

Vodafone operates through a combination of wholly owned subsidiaries, joint ventures and partner arrangements across multiple countries, with a particularly large presence in Europe and in several African markets.

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