Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Serve Robotics (NASDAQ:SERV)

Key Points

• Unusually heavy call options trading hit Serve Robotics, with investors buying 16,778 call contracts on Monday, about 33% above the stock’s average daily call volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but generally constructive: several firms maintained or raised buy/overweight views, while the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average target price of $17.51.
• The stock rose 3.4% to $9.67, but the company continues to post losses, recently reporting a wider-than-expected quarterly EPS miss even as revenue came in slightly above estimates.

Serve Robotics Inc. (NASDAQ:SERV - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors acquired 16,778 call options on the company. This is an increase of 33% compared to the average daily volume of 12,604 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on SERV. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH boosted their target price on shares of Serve Robotics from $15.00 to $16.60 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Serve Robotics in a report on Monday, April 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $13.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Serve Robotics in a report on Friday, March 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of Serve Robotics from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Freedom Capital downgraded Serve Robotics from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Serve Robotics currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.51.

Insider Activity at Serve Robotics

In related news, insider Anthony Armenta sold 3,567 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.82, for a total value of $35,027.94. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 540,919 shares in the company, valued at $5,311,824.58. The trade was a 0.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Brian Read sold 2,790 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.29, for a total transaction of $25,919.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 318,768 shares in the company, valued at $2,961,354.72. The trade was a 0.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 83,438 shares of company stock valued at $772,667. 5.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC grew its position in Serve Robotics by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC now owns 166,779 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,731,000 after purchasing an additional 1,704 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in Serve Robotics by 14.5% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 14,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,877 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Serve Robotics by 38.0% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 7,003 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,927 shares in the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC grew its position in Serve Robotics by 9.0% during the third quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 24,250 shares of the company's stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Serve Robotics by 65.2% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,274 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 2,082 shares in the last quarter.

Serve Robotics Stock Up 3.4%

Shares of Serve Robotics stock traded up $0.32 during trading on Monday, hitting $9.67. The stock had a trading volume of 3,967,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,922,496. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.22. The company has a market capitalization of $747.78 million, a PE ratio of -4.81 and a beta of 0.55. Serve Robotics has a 1 year low of $7.66 and a 1 year high of $18.64.

Serve Robotics (NASDAQ:SERV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.65) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.57) by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.83 million. Serve Robotics had a negative return on equity of 47.31% and a negative net margin of 2,639.98%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Serve Robotics will post -2.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Serve Robotics

Serve Robotics develops and operates autonomous sidewalk delivery robots designed to transform last-mile logistics for restaurants, retailers and grocery brands. By combining proprietary hardware, sensor suites and dispatch software, the company enables on-demand deliveries of food, beverages and consumer goods while minimizing reliance on traditional vehicle fleets.

The core Serve robot integrates four-wheeled mobility, LiDAR and vision cameras with AI-driven navigation algorithms to detect obstacles, traverse urban sidewalks and interact safely with pedestrians.

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