Uber Technologies Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:UBER)

Key Points

• Uber Technologies saw a significant increase in call options, with investors acquiring 157,530 call options, up about 19% from typical daily volumes.
• Bank of America and JPMorgan recently raised their price targets on Uber, with Bank of America setting a target of $115.00, while the consensus rating is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $103.06.
• Uber's stock rose 3.2% on a recent trading day, reaching $97.78, and the company reported a net margin of 26.68% and revenue of $12.65 billion for the last quarter.

Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors acquired 157,530 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 19% compared to the average daily volume of 132,860 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Uber Technologies

In related news, insider Jill Hazelbaker sold 31,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total value of $3,013,125.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 86,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,343,319.02. This trade represents a 26.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah sold 2,750 shares of Uber Technologies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.42, for a total value of $273,405.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 22,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,239,733.76. This represents a 10.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 354,571 shares of company stock worth $33,810,741 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Uber Technologies

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Uber Technologies by 1.6% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 189,551,519 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $17,685,157,000 after purchasing an additional 3,025,483 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Uber Technologies by 2.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 45,859,136 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock worth $4,258,756,000 after buying an additional 1,168,288 shares in the last quarter. Pershing Square Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in Uber Technologies during the first quarter worth about $2,207,743,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Uber Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,348,319,000. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Uber Technologies by 334,075.7% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 19,973,682 shares of the ride-sharing company's stock valued at $1,863,545,000 after acquiring an additional 19,967,705 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.24% of the company's stock.

Uber Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UBER traded up $3.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $98.68. The company had a trading volume of 38,703,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,522,252. The company has a market capitalization of $205.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.81 and a beta of 1.43. Uber Technologies has a 1 year low of $59.33 and a 1 year high of $99.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $92.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.45.

Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The ride-sharing company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $12.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.45 billion. Uber Technologies had a return on equity of 59.96% and a net margin of 26.68%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Uber Technologies will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on UBER shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Uber Technologies from $119.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Uber Technologies from $101.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Uber Technologies from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Uber Technologies from $95.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Uber Technologies from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $103.06.

About Uber Technologies

Uber Technologies, Inc develops and operates proprietary technology applications in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia excluding China and Southeast Asia. It operates through three segments: Mobility, Delivery, and Freight. The Mobility segment connects consumers with a range of transportation modalities, such as ridesharing, carsharing, micromobility, rentals, public transit, taxis, and other modalities; and offers riders in a variety of vehicle types, as well as financial partnerships products and advertising services.