Groupon Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:GRPN)

Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders purchased 7,210 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 23% compared to the average volume of 5,870 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Groupon from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Groupon in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $13.00 price target (up from $10.00) on shares of Groupon in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Groupon in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $26.00 price objective on Groupon in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Groupon presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Groupon

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Groupon during the third quarter worth approximately $2,263,000. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. boosted its holdings in shares of Groupon by 147.7% in the 4th quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. now owns 528,089 shares of the coupon company’s stock worth $9,300,000 after acquiring an additional 314,896 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Groupon by 764.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 197,546 shares of the coupon company’s stock worth $3,479,000 after acquiring an additional 174,705 shares during the last quarter. Potomac Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Groupon during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,633,000. Finally, Manatuck Hill Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Groupon during the 4th quarter valued at $678,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.05% of the company’s stock.

Groupon Price Performance

Shares of GRPN stock opened at $22.60 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.10. The firm has a market cap of $858.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.66 and a beta of 0.25. Groupon has a one year low of $9.17 and a one year high of $43.08.

Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The coupon company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $117.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.65 million. Groupon had a negative return on equity of 717.37% and a negative net margin of 20.78%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Groupon will post -0.16 earnings per share for the current year.

About Groupon

Groupon, Inc operates an online marketplace that connects subscribers with local merchants offering discounted goods, services and experiences. Through its website and mobile applications, Groupon provides time-limited deals across categories such as restaurants, travel, beauty and wellness, home services, and consumer products. Merchants partner with Groupon to attract new customers and drive foot traffic, leveraging the platform’s targeted marketing tools and large subscriber base to promote special offers and vouchers.

Founded in Chicago in 2008 by Andrew Mason, Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell, Groupon pioneered the daily-deals model, quickly growing its user community and merchant network.