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

Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 12,354 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 141% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,135 call options.

Insider Activity

In other Sony news, insider Kenji Tanaka sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.83, for a total value of $476,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 43,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,046,113.17. This represents a 31.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sony

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sony by 337.6% in the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,949,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,836,000 after acquiring an additional 1,504,035 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sony during the first quarter valued at approximately $23,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Sony during the second quarter valued at approximately $10,232,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Sony during the first quarter worth $39,998,000. Finally, XY Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Sony during the second quarter worth $10,246,000. 14.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Sony News

Here are the key news stories impacting Sony this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sony reported quarterly EPS of $0.49 versus the $0.38 consensus and revenue of $21.77 billion versus estimates of $20.15 billion; revenue rose 10.3% year over year. Reports also put profit growth at roughly 45%–48%. The earnings beat and raised sales and operating-income forecasts support the outlook for continued growth. Zacks: SONY Q2 earnings and revenues rise
• Positive Sentiment: Pictures benefited from the latest Spider-Man movie, while gaming was another source of strength. The combination highlights the earnings potential of Sony’s entertainment franchises and content investments. Bloomberg: Sony lifts outlook after Spider-Man and PlayStation fuel growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports on next-generation PlayStation development are mixed: one says Sony is making solid progress, while another flags hardware challenges that could delay the PS6. Any timing impact remains uncertain and is a longer-term consideration rather than a confirmed change to the current earnings outlook. Push Square: PS6 development on track Analytics Insight: PlayStation 6 could take longer to arrive

Sony Price Performance

Shares of SONY traded up $1.92 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $27.86. 3,050,458 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,506,744. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.63 billion, a PE ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.98. Sony has a fifty-two week low of $19.32 and a fifty-two week high of $30.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SONY has been the subject of several research reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sony in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Sony in a research note on Monday, August 17th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on shares of Sony from $660.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research cut shares of Sony from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Sony in a report on Thursday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sony presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $373.00.

Sony Company Profile

Sony Group Corporation is a Japan-based global entertainment and technology company whose businesses span games, music, motion pictures, electronics, imaging and financial services. The company develops and markets consumer and professional products, digital content, software and services through a portfolio of internationally recognized brands.

Sony’s Game & Network Services business operates the PlayStation platform, including hardware, software, online services and related content.