Sabre Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:SABR)

Key Points

• On Thursday, Sabre Corporation experienced a significant increase in put options trading, with investors purchasing 11,096 put options, marking a rise of 261% over the typical volume.
• Sabre's stock price fell 41.5% to $1.76, with an exceptionally high trading volume of 38,648,487 shares compared to its average of 5,551,549.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings miss, with earnings per share of ($0.02), falling short of analysts' expectations of $0.01.

Sabre Corporation (NASDAQ:SABR - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 11,096 put options on the company. Thisrepresentsanincreaseof261% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,072 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Sabre in a report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Sabre from $5.00 to $3.50 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $4.28.

Sabre Trading Down 2.3%

SABR traded down $0.05 on Friday, reaching $1.89. The company had a trading volume of 24,613,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,001,310. The company has a fifty day moving average of $2.96 and a 200-day moving average of $3.00. The company has a market capitalization of $731.02 million, a P/E ratio of -2.07 and a beta of 1.47. Sabre has a one year low of $1.73 and a one year high of $4.63.

Sabre (NASDAQ:SABR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The information technology services provider reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $687.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $718.16 million. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.05) EPS. Research analysts predict that Sabre will post 0.04 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sabre

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SABR. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Sabre in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,955,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in Sabre by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 68,124 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 19,737 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Sabre by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,673,767 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $6,109,000 after acquiring an additional 30,236 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Sabre by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,654,980 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $9,691,000 after acquiring an additional 194,356 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Sabre in the 4th quarter valued at about $130,000. Institutional investors own 89.42% of the company's stock.

About Sabre

Sabre Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as software and technology company for travel industry in the United States, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and internationally. It operates through two segments: Travel Solutions and Hospitality Solutions. The Travel Solutions segment operates a business-to-business travel marketplace that offers travel content, such as inventory, prices, and availability from a range of travel suppliers, including airlines, hotels, car rental brands, rail carriers, cruise lines, and tour operators with a network of travel buyers comprising online and offline travel agencies, travel management companies, and corporate travel departments.