Traders Purchase Large Volume of Huntsman Call Options (NYSE:HUN)

Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 14,272 call options on the company. This is an increase of 120% compared to the average volume of 6,475 call options.

Huntsman Stock Up 6.0%

Shares of NYSE HUN opened at $13.76 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a PE ratio of -7.24 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Huntsman has a 12 month low of $7.30 and a 12 month high of $18.53.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.10. Huntsman had a negative net margin of 5.69% and a negative return on equity of 3.26%. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. Huntsman’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Huntsman will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HUN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Huntsman in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $8.00 price objective (down previously from $9.00) on shares of Huntsman in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Huntsman from $10.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Huntsman from $8.50 to $9.50 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors set a $11.00 price target on shares of Huntsman in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $11.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Huntsman

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Huntsman by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,880,912 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $178,809,000 after buying an additional 1,523,590 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Huntsman by 29.8% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 12,062,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,878,000 after acquiring an additional 2,772,563 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Huntsman by 83.5% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 7,364,206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $66,131,000 after purchasing an additional 3,351,265 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Huntsman by 1.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,663,244 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $59,836,000 after purchasing an additional 113,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 1.6% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 5,393,866 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,437,000 after purchasing an additional 83,098 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.81% of the company’s stock.

Huntsman Company Profile

Huntsman Corporation is a global manufacturer and marketer of specialty chemicals with headquarters in The Woodlands, Texas. Founded in 1970 by entrepreneur Jon Huntsman Sr., the company has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to establish a broad portfolio of products serving diverse end markets. Huntsman maintains a presence in more than 30 countries, operating manufacturing facilities across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East.

The company organizes its operations into several core business segments, including Polyurethanes, Performance Products, Advanced Materials, and Textile Effects.