Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on GameStop (NYSE:GME)

GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 827,917 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 272% compared to the typical volume of 222,847 call options.

GameStop Stock Up 6.1%

Shares of NYSE:GME traded up $2.00 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $35.03. 33,104,977 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,865,619. GameStop has a 52-week low of $18.73 and a 52-week high of $48.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $26.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.21. The company has a market cap of $15.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 194.62 and a beta of -0.76.

GameStop (NYSE:GME - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.21. GameStop had a return on equity of 2.11% and a net margin of 1.45%. The company had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.21 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 28.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that GameStop will post 0.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at GameStop

In related news, CEO Ryan Cohen purchased 500,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $21.55 per share, with a total value of $10,775,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 37,347,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $804,845,995.10. This represents a 1.36% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Alain Attal bought 10,000 shares of GameStop stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.75 per share, for a total transaction of $257,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 572,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,740,948. This trade represents a 1.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 515,000 shares of company stock worth $11,140,200. 12.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GameStop

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GME. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of GameStop by 223.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 990 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in GameStop during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of GameStop during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of GameStop by 67.2% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,720 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in GameStop by 59.9% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,820 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 682 shares during the last quarter. 29.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on GME shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of GameStop from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Wedbush set a $11.50 price target on GameStop in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th.

About GameStop

GameStop Corp., a specialty retailer, provides games and entertainment products through its stores and ecommerce platforms in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe. The company sells new and pre-owned gaming platforms; accessories, such as controllers, gaming headsets, and virtual reality products; new and pre-owned gaming software; and in-game digital currency, digital downloadable content, and full-game downloads.