Traders Buy Large Volume of Kenvue Call Options (NYSE:KVUE)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity: Traders bought 12,993 Kenvue call options on Friday, about 144% above the average volume of 5,327 contracts, signaling elevated bullish speculation.
• Solid recent earnings: Kenvue reported quarterly EPS of $0.32, beating estimates by $0.05, and revenue of $3.91 billion, which also topped expectations.
• Mixed Wall Street view: Despite the earnings beat, analysts still rate KVUE a consensus Hold, with 3 Buy ratings and 13 Hold ratings and an average price target of $19.33.

Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 12,993 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 144% compared to the average volume of 5,327 call options.

Kenvue Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KVUE traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $19.56. The stock had a trading volume of 3,841,114 shares, compared to its average volume of 29,884,768. The company has a market cap of $37.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.02, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.47. Kenvue has a twelve month low of $14.02 and a twelve month high of $22.87. The business's fifty day moving average is $18.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.84 billion. Kenvue had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Kenvue will post 1.16 EPS for the current year.

Kenvue Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a $0.2075 dividend. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. Kenvue's dividend payout ratio is 97.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on KVUE shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Kenvue from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays cut their price target on Kenvue from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Kenvue from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Kenvue from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kenvue from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kenvue

In related news, General Counsel Matthew Orlando sold 38,491 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.66, for a total value of $679,751.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.59% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kenvue

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Kenvue in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $756,862,000. Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of Kenvue by 56.3% in the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 48,146,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $830,527,000 after purchasing an additional 17,343,785 shares during the period. Sculptor Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Kenvue by 1,023.5% in the 4th quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 12,886,328 shares of the company's stock worth $222,289,000 after purchasing an additional 11,739,328 shares during the last quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC boosted its position in shares of Kenvue by 1,116.8% in the 4th quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 10,950,999 shares of the company's stock worth $188,905,000 after purchasing an additional 10,050,999 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Kenvue during the fourth quarter worth $162,193,000. 97.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kenvue Company Profile

Kenvue is a consumer health company that was established as a standalone, publicly traded business after separating from Johnson & Johnson. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol KVUE, Kenvue focuses on the development, manufacture, marketing and distribution of consumer health and personal care products across a range of categories including skin and beauty care, baby care, oral care, wound care and over‑the‑counter medicines.

The company owns and markets a portfolio of widely recognized consumer brands, including names familiar to global shoppers across retail and pharmacy channels.

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