Traders Buy Large Volume of VanEck Semiconductor ETF Put Options (NASDAQ:SMH)

VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SMH) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 160,842 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 46% compared to the average daily volume of 109,817 put options.

VanEck Semiconductor ETF Price Performance

SMH traded up $0.89 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $417.52. 9,262,371 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,055,635. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $370.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $335.52. VanEck Semiconductor ETF has a 12 month low of $170.11 and a 12 month high of $420.60. The stock has a market cap of $45.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.83 and a beta of 1.52.

VanEck Semiconductor ETF Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 26th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 22nd were issued a dividend of $1.1047 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 22nd. This represents a dividend yield of 31.0%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VanEck Semiconductor ETF

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SMH. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new position in shares of VanEck Semiconductor ETF in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Realta Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of VanEck Semiconductor ETF by 84.4% in the 3rd quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 83 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new position in VanEck Semiconductor ETF in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in VanEck Semiconductor ETF during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, WealthCollab LLC purchased a new position in VanEck Semiconductor ETF during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000.

VanEck Semiconductor ETF Company Profile

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 index, a market-cap-weighted index of 25 of the largest US-listed semiconductors companies. SMH was launched on May 5, 2000 and is managed by VanEck.