Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR)

Key Points

• Shift4 Payments saw a significant increase in call options trading, with 5,069 call options purchased, representing an 88% rise from the average volume.
• The company's recent earnings report revealed $1.10 earnings per share, falling short of the expected $1.20, and revenue of $413.40 million significantly below analyst forecasts.
• Multiple analysts have reiterated their ratings on Shift4 Payments, with target prices ranging from $86.00 to $114.37, and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders acquired 5,069 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 88% compared to the average volume of 2,699 call options.

Shift4 Payments Price Performance

FOUR stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $78.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,466,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,826,750. The company's fifty day moving average is $87.60 and its 200-day moving average is $89.42. Shift4 Payments has a 1 year low of $68.09 and a 1 year high of $127.50. The company has a market capitalization of $6.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a quick ratio of 2.53, a current ratio of 2.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99.

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $413.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $967.84 million. Shift4 Payments had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 37.05%. The business's revenue was up 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Shift4 Payments will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Shift4 Payments from $97.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Shift4 Payments in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Shift4 Payments from $113.00 to $107.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Shift4 Payments in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Shift4 Payments from $92.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $114.37.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Shift4 Payments news, Chairman Jared Isaacman bought 104,705 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $83.61 per share, for a total transaction of $8,754,385.05. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 939,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,569,571.15. This trade represents a 12.54% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider James J. Whalen sold 794 shares of Shift4 Payments stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.89, for a total transaction of $71,372.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 56,324 shares in the company, valued at $5,062,964.36. This trade represents a 1.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 25.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shift4 Payments

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Durable Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Shift4 Payments by 12.6% in the 2nd quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 6,665,443 shares of the company's stock worth $660,612,000 after purchasing an additional 745,650 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in Shift4 Payments by 16.4% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 6,338,567 shares of the company's stock worth $628,215,000 after purchasing an additional 890,990 shares during the last quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Shift4 Payments by 4.2% during the second quarter. Darlington Partners Capital Management LP now owns 4,966,405 shares of the company's stock valued at $492,220,000 after buying an additional 200,000 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Shift4 Payments by 2.6% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,636,924 shares of the company's stock valued at $162,236,000 after buying an additional 41,548 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Shift4 Payments by 16.6% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,505,933 shares of the company's stock valued at $149,253,000 after buying an additional 214,627 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.87% of the company's stock.

About Shift4 Payments

Shift4 Payments, Inc (NYSE FOUR) provides integrated payment processing and technology solutions in the United States. Its payments platform provides omni-channel card acceptance and processing solutions, including end-to-end payment processing for various payment types; merchant acquiring; proprietary omni-channel gateway; complementary software integrations; integrated and mobile point-of-sale (POS) solutions; security and risk management solutions; and reporting and analytical tools, as well as tokenization, risk management/underwriting, payment device and chargeback management, fraud prevention, and gift card solutions.

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