Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Sony (NYSE:SONY)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity hit Sony on Monday, with traders buying 38,722 call options — a 263% jump above the average daily volume.
• Sony shares rose to $21.30 during trading, and volume was higher than usual at 8.7 million shares versus a 6.1 million average.
• The company recently reported mixed quarterly results: EPS of $0.09 missed estimates, but revenue of $19.15 billion topped expectations and was up 8.3% year over year.

Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors acquired 38,722 call options on the company. This is an increase of 263% compared to the average daily volume of 10,680 call options.

Sony Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SONY traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $21.30. 8,716,743 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,128,055. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $21.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.69 billion, a PE ratio of -106.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.97 and a beta of 0.92. Sony has a 12 month low of $19.63 and a 12 month high of $30.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Sony (NYSE:SONY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.13). Sony had a negative net margin of 1.44% and a positive return on equity of 13.59%. The firm had revenue of $19.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $32.86 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Sony will post 1.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sony

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Sony by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 325,068 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,729,000 after purchasing an additional 25,941 shares during the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC increased its position in Sony by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 79,712 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,650,000 after acquiring an additional 5,280 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its position in Sony by 337.6% in the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,949,592 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,836,000 after acquiring an additional 1,504,035 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Sony by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 36,255 shares of the company's stock valued at $750,000 after acquiring an additional 3,520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Common Asset Management LLC increased its position in Sony by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 321,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,658,000 after acquiring an additional 30,979 shares in the last quarter. 14.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SONY. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $22.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of Sony in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Sony in a report on Monday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Sony from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Sony from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sony presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.00.

About Sony

Sony Group Corporation NYSE: SONY is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Founded in 1946 by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita, Sony has grown from an electronics maker into a diversified global company with operations spanning consumer electronics, entertainment, gaming, semiconductors and financial services. The company's shares trade in Japan and its American Depositary Receipts trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SONY.

Sony's primary businesses include Electronics Products & Solutions, which covers televisions, audio equipment, digital cameras and professional broadcast systems; Game & Network Services, anchored by the PlayStation platform, consoles, software and online services; Music and Pictures, through Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment, producing, distributing and licensing recorded music, film and television content; Imaging & Sensing Solutions, which develops CMOS image sensors and other semiconductor components; and Financial Services, offering life insurance, banking and other financial products in Japan.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.