HDFC Bank (NYSE:HDB) Stock Sees Unusually High Call Option Buying

HDFC Bank Limited (NYSE:HDB) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors purchased 6,116 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 531% compared to the average volume of 970 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HDB. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in HDFC Bank during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HDFC Bank in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Boit C F David purchased a new stake in shares of HDFC Bank in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of HDFC Bank by 33.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 3,807 shares of the bank’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 952 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of HDFC Bank by 215.5% during the 2nd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 3,868 shares of the bank’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 2,642 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 17.61% of the company’s stock.

HDFC Bank Stock Up 2.6%

HDB traded up $0.65 during trading on Friday, reaching $25.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,032,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,099,340. HDFC Bank has a 1 year low of $21.36 and a 1 year high of $37.35. The company has a market cap of $130.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.70.

HDFC Bank (NYSE:HDB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, October 17th. The bank reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $8.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.95 billion. HDFC Bank had a return on equity of 11.70% and a net margin of 15.84%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that HDFC Bank will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on HDB shares. Weiss Ratings cut HDFC Bank from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Zacks Research upgraded HDFC Bank from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of HDFC Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 24th. HSBC cut shares of HDFC Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $30.80 to $26.10 in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of HDFC Bank in a report on Friday, August 21st. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.10.

HDFC Bank Company Profile

HDFC Bank Limited is an India-based banking and financial services company headquartered in Mumbai. Incorporated in 1994, it began banking operations in 1995 and serves individuals, businesses and institutions across India.

The bank offers savings and current accounts, deposits, loans, credit and debit cards, payment services, and digital banking. Its business also includes wholesale banking, treasury services and wealth management. In 2023, HDFC Limited, a housing finance company, merged with HDFC Bank, bringing its housing finance activities into the bank.

HDFC Bank primarily serves the Indian market and also maintains a limited international presence.