Investors Buy Large Volume of iShares MSCI Japan ETF Put Options (NYSEARCA:EWJ)

iShares MSCI Japan ETF (NYSEARCA:EWJ) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders acquired 19,164 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 220% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,997 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Narus Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,472 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,164 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Patten Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 3.5% during the first quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 4,023 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenwich Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,561 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $1,337,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.60% of the company’s stock.

iShares MSCI Japan ETF Price Performance

Shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF stock traded down $1.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $96.75. 962,637 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,129,663. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63 and a beta of 0.69. iShares MSCI Japan ETF has a 12-month low of $78.21 and a 12-month high of $98.79. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.48.

iShares MSCI Japan ETF Company Profile

iShares MSCI Japan ETF (the fund), formerly Ishares Msci Japan Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of publicly traded securities in the Japanese market, as measured by the MSCI Japan Index (the Index). The Index consists of stocks traded primarily on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index.