Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Vertical Aerospace (NYSE:EVTL)

Key Points

• Traders bought 5,200 call options on Vertical Aerospace, a 107% increase over average volume, indicating unusual bullish options activity.
• Shares jumped 7.7% to $2.58 on Wednesday with heavy trading; the company has a market cap of $327.87M and reported quarterly EPS of -$0.40, beating estimates of -$0.52.
• 81.17% of the stock is owned by institutions, several hedge funds recently increased positions, and analysts hold a mixed view but show a consensus "Moderate Buy" target of $11.30.

Vertical Aerospace Ltd. (NYSE:EVTL - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 5,200 call options on the company. This is an increase of 107% compared to the average volume of 2,514 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Vertical Aerospace by 25.8% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 14,435 shares of the company's stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 2,963 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Vertical Aerospace by 156.0% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 6,843 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 4,170 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Vertical Aerospace by 144.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 8,211 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 4,850 shares during the period. EFG International AG acquired a new stake in Vertical Aerospace during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Vertical Aerospace by 65.3% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 18,255 shares of the company's stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 7,209 shares during the period. 81.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertical Aerospace Stock Up 7.7%

NYSE EVTL traded up $0.19 on Wednesday, hitting $2.58. 2,129,782 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,291,170. Vertical Aerospace has a fifty-two week low of $1.90 and a fifty-two week high of $7.60. The company has a market cap of $327.87 million, a PE ratio of -0.84 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $3.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.38.

Vertical Aerospace (NYSE:EVTL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.40) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.52) by $0.12. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertical Aerospace will post -1.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on EVTL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Vertical Aerospace from $9.50 to $10.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Vertical Aerospace from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Vertical Aerospace in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. D. Boral Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $12.00 target price on shares of Vertical Aerospace in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, William Blair started coverage on shares of Vertical Aerospace in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $11.30.

About Vertical Aerospace

Vertical Aerospace is a United Kingdom–based aerospace manufacturer specializing in the development of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for urban air mobility. Founded in 2016 by entrepreneur Stephen Fitzpatrick, the company is publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker EVTL. Vertical Aerospace's mission is to deliver zero-emission, high-speed electric aircraft designed to transform short-haul journeys in densely populated areas.

The company's flagship model, the VA-X4, is a piloted, five-seat eVTOL craft engineered for quiet operation, low running costs and minimal environmental impact.

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