Investors Buy High Volume of Amcor Call Options (NYSE:AMCR)

Key Points

• Amcor witnessed an unprecedented 1,674% surge in call options trading, with investors purchasing 44,211 call options on Thursday, indicating strong bullish sentiment.
• Wall Street analysts have largely rated Amcor positively, with seven out of nine analysts giving it a "buy" rating and an average target price of $11.58.
• Despite positive analyst ratings, Amcor's stock price has recently dropped 14.3% to $8.52, and it reported a quarterly earnings miss with an EPS of $0.20.

Amcor PLC (NYSE:AMCR - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders bought 44,211 call options on the company. Thisisanincreaseof1,674% compared to the average volume of 2,492 call options.

Institutional Trading of Amcor

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Amcor by 377.9% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 2,810 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 2,222 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Amcor by 18,725.0% during the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 3,012 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 2,996 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Amcor by 839.8% during the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 3,026 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 2,704 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Amcor during the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Brentview Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amcor during the first quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.14% of the company's stock.

Amcor Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE AMCR traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $8.73. 65,218,352 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 24,568,416. Amcor has a 52 week low of $8.37 and a 52 week high of $11.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $9.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.51. The stock has a market cap of $12.62 billion, a PE ratio of 24.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Amcor (NYSE:AMCR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.18 billion. Amcor had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 19.43%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.21 EPS. Analysts forecast that Amcor will post 0.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amcor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.1275 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $0.51 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. Amcor's payout ratio is presently 141.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMCR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial set a $11.00 price target on Amcor and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group raised Amcor from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Amcor in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $12.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Amcor from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Amcor from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $11.42.

Amcor Company Profile

Amcor plc develops, produces, and sells packaging products in Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa, and the Asia Pacific regions. The company operates through two segments, Flexibles and Rigid Packaging. The Flexibles segment provides flexible and film packaging products in the food and beverage, medical and pharmaceutical, fresh produce, snack food, personal care, and other industries.