Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders purchased 78,008 call options on the company. This is an increase of 16% compared to the average daily volume of 67,534 call options.

Paramount Global Stock Up 6.9 %

NASDAQ PARA opened at $11.46 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.33. Paramount Global has a 12 month low of $9.54 and a 12 month high of $17.50. The company has a market capitalization of $7.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -76.40, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.78.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.28. Paramount Global had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 3.35%. The business had revenue of $7.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.09 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Paramount Global will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paramount Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Paramount Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently -133.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paramount Global

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Paramount Global by 8.3% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 316,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,082,000 after purchasing an additional 24,208 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its position in Paramount Global by 16.3% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 80,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,039,000 after acquiring an additional 11,264 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in Paramount Global by 30.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 19,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 4,515 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Paramount Global in the third quarter worth approximately $1,240,000. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in Paramount Global by 8.7% in the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 304,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,928,000 after acquiring an additional 24,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PARA shares. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Paramount Global in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Paramount Global from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Paramount Global from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Paramount Global from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Paramount Global from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Paramount Global presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.29.

About Paramount Global

Paramount Global operates as a media, streaming, and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through TV Media, Direct-to-Consumer, and Filmed Entertainment segments. The TV Media segment operates CBS Television Network, a domestic broadcast television network; CBS Stations, a television station; and international free-to-air networks comprising Network 10, Channel 5, Telefe, and Chilevisión; domestic premium and basic cable networks, such as Paramount+ with Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, The Smithsonian Channel, Nickelodeon, BET Media Group, and CBS Sports Network; and international extensions of these brands.