Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Cipher Mining Call Options (NASDAQ:CIFR)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Investors bought 167,723 Cipher Mining call options, about 49% above the stock’s average daily call volume.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish: Cipher Mining has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $28.61, despite recent target reductions by some firms.
• Fundamentals showed weakness: The stock closed at $15.88 after the company reported a larger-than-expected quarterly loss and lower-than-forecast revenue. Insiders have also sold more than 3.1 million shares worth approximately $81.7 million over the past 90 days.

Cipher Mining Inc. (NASDAQ:CIFR - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 167,723 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 49% compared to the average daily volume of 112,681 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Cipher Mining in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $32.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Cipher Mining in a research note on Monday, August 10th. UBS Group set a $30.00 target price on Cipher Mining in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Cipher Mining from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Cipher Mining from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $28.61.

Cipher Mining Price Performance

CIFR traded down $0.21 on Wednesday, reaching $15.88. 44,117,010 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 28,190,287. Cipher Mining has a twelve month low of $5.32 and a twelve month high of $30.14. The stock has a market cap of $6.59 billion, a PE ratio of -5.55 and a beta of 3.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.69, a current ratio of 3.00 and a quick ratio of 3.00. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $21.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.10.

Cipher Mining (NASDAQ:CIFR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.65) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.25) by ($0.40). The business had revenue of $24.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.86 million. Cipher Mining had a negative net margin of 585.75% and a negative return on equity of 156.28%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.12) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Cipher Mining will post -1.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Cipher Mining

In other Cipher Mining news, Director Cary M. Grossman sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.43, for a total value of $441,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 143,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,232,887.47. The trade was a 9.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Tyler Page sold 112,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.19, for a total transaction of $2,383,875.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 9,084,225 shares in the company, valued at $192,494,727.75. The trade was a 1.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,145,825 shares of company stock valued at $81,741,167. 3.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cipher Mining

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Cipher Mining by 41.7% during the 2nd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Abel Hall LLC raised its position in Cipher Mining by 3.8% in the first quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 20,140 shares of the company's stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 739 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC lifted its stake in Cipher Mining by 7.0% during the first quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 11,495 shares of the company's stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Cipher Mining by 43.3% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,661 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 804 shares during the period. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its stake in shares of Cipher Mining by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 15,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 980 shares in the last quarter. 12.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cipher Mining

Cipher Mining Inc is a Nasdaq-listed bitcoin mining company that develops, owns and operates large-scale mining facilities across the United States. The company focuses on deploying advanced ASIC hardware and securing long-term low-cost power contracts to optimize bitcoin production. By strategically locating its sites in regions with abundant energy supply, Cipher Mining seeks to maintain a competitive cost structure and deliver efficient hashrate capacity growth.

Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Cipher Mining has pursued an integrated approach encompassing site development, equipment procurement and operations management.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source