Annaly Capital Management Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:NLY)

Key Points

• Traders purchased 17,464 call options for Annaly Capital Management, marking a significant 69% increase from the average daily volume.
• As of the second quarter, several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and State Street Corp, have increased their stakes in Annaly Capital Management, with institutional ownership now at 51.56%.
• The stock's price has seen a recent uptick, trading at $21.28, and analysts have varying target prices, ranging from $20.00 to $21.50, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 17,464 call options on the company. Thisisanincreaseof69% compared to the average daily volume of 10,355 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NLY. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Annaly Capital Management during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in Annaly Capital Management during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Annaly Capital Management during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Annaly Capital Management during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new position in Annaly Capital Management during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $20.50 to $21.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jones Trading reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Annaly Capital Management in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Annaly Capital Management from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.83.

Annaly Capital Management Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE NLY traded up $0.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $22.06. 8,141,360 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,865,447. The firm has a market cap of $14.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 1.24. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $20.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Annaly Capital Management has a fifty-two week low of $16.59 and a fifty-two week high of $22.18.

Annaly Capital Management (NYSE:NLY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $273.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $237.00 million. Annaly Capital Management had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 15.53%. Analysts predict that Annaly Capital Management will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

About Annaly Capital Management

Annaly Capital Management, Inc, a diversified capital manager, engages in mortgage finance. The company invests in agency mortgage-backed securities collateralized by residential mortgages; non-agency residential whole loans and securitized products within the residential and commercial markets; mortgage servicing rights; agency commercial mortgage-backed securities; to-be-announced forward contracts; residential mortgage loans; and agency or private label credit risk transfer securities.