Paramount Global Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:PARA)

Key Points

• Paramount Global saw a significant increase in trading activity with investors purchasing 44,507 put options, up 210% from the average volume.
• Brokerages have recently adjusted their ratings and price targets for Paramount Global, with Deutsche Bank downgrading the stock to "hold" and setting a target price of $12.00.
• The company's latest earnings report showed a revenue of $7.19 billion, which slightly exceeded analyst expectations, but represented a 6.4% decline year-over-year.
• Paramount Global also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.05, with a current dividend yield of 1.53%.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors acquired 44,507 put options on the company. This is an increase of 210% compared to the average daily volume of 14,374 put options.

Institutional Trading of Paramount Global

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PARA. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Paramount Global in the fourth quarter worth $45,202,000. Slate Path Capital LP increased its holdings in Paramount Global by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. Slate Path Capital LP now owns 12,586,000 shares of the company's stock worth $131,650,000 after buying an additional 3,741,000 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in Paramount Global during the fourth quarter worth $21,229,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paramount Global during the fourth quarter worth $20,292,000. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Paramount Global during the first quarter worth $15,626,000. Institutional investors own 73.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PARA shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $12.00 price objective (down from $13.00) on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Paramount Global from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Paramount Global from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Paramount Global from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of Paramount Global in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Paramount Global currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $11.60.

Paramount Global Stock Up 1.6%

PARA traded up $0.21 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $13.25. The company had a trading volume of 28,740,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,782,456. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.18. Paramount Global has a 12 month low of $9.95 and a 12 month high of $13.59. The business's fifty day moving average price is $12.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.68. The company has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.61, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.19.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.02. Paramount Global had a negative net margin of 19.09% and a positive return on equity of 4.80%. The firm had revenue of $7.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Paramount Global will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Paramount Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th were given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 16th. Paramount Global's dividend payout ratio is presently -2.43%.

About Paramount Global

Paramount Global operates as a media, streaming, and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through TV Media, Direct-to-Consumer, and Filmed Entertainment segments. The TV Media segment operates CBS Television Network, a domestic broadcast television network; CBS Stations, a television station; and international free-to-air networks comprising Network 10, Channel 5, Telefe, and Chilevisión; domestic premium and basic cable networks, such as Paramount+ with Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, The Smithsonian Channel, Nickelodeon, BET Media Group, and CBS Sports Network; and international extensions of these brands.