Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on SLB (NYSE:SLB)

SLB Limited (NYSE:SLB) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders purchased 42,110 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 45% compared to the average daily volume of 29,077 call options.

SLB Price Performance

SLB stock traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $46.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,369,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,155,475. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $69.95 billion, a PE ratio of 18.08 and a beta of 0.72. SLB has a 52 week low of $31.11 and a 52 week high of $47.72. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $38.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.18.

SLB (NYSE:SLB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $8.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. SLB had a net margin of 10.34% and a return on equity of 18.97%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that SLB will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SLB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of SLB in a report on Thursday. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of SLB from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Redburn Partners set a $48.00 price target on shares of SLB in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of SLB from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of SLB from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.69, for a total transaction of $2,261,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 159,371 shares in the company, valued at $6,006,692.99. The trade was a 27.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 38,447 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.75, for a total value of $1,412,927.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 175,690 shares in the company, valued at $6,456,607.50. The trade was a 17.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 103,947 shares of company stock valued at $3,871,337. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of SLB by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 80,830 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,732,000 after acquiring an additional 40,415 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in shares of SLB by 13.8% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 210,056 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,220,000 after purchasing an additional 25,417 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in SLB by 1,937.4% in the third quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 996,948 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $34,265,000 after purchasing an additional 948,015 shares in the last quarter. Allen Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in SLB during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,455,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in SLB by 4.9% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,157,885 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $72,354,000 after purchasing an additional 100,918 shares during the last quarter. 81.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About SLB

SLB (NYSE: SLB), historically known as Schlumberger, is a leading global provider of technology, integrated project management and information solutions for the energy industry. Founded by Conrad and Marcel Schlumberger in 1926, the company develops and supplies products and services used across the exploration, drilling, completion and production phases of oil and gas development. Its offerings are intended to help operators characterize reservoirs, drill and complete wells, optimize production and manage field operations throughout the asset lifecycle.

SLB’s product and service portfolio spans reservoir characterization and well testing, wireline and logging services, directional drilling and drilling tools, well construction and completion technologies, production systems, and subsea equipment.