Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR)

MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 560,433 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 291% compared to the average daily volume of 143,383 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at MicroStrategy

In related news, CEO Phong Le sold 48,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.40, for a total transaction of $6,612,665.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 12,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,715,518. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Phong Le sold 48,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.40, for a total value of $6,612,665.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,715,518. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Wei-Ming Shao sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.20, for a total transaction of $423,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $912,152. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 101,838 shares of company stock worth $13,950,265 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MicroStrategy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of MicroStrategy by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 50 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of MicroStrategy by 36.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 30 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares during the period. Cigna Investments Inc. New raised its stake in shares of MicroStrategy by 5.1% in the second quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 164 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 8 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MicroStrategy by 2.8% during the second quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 400 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MicroStrategy by 233.3% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 20 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.03% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MSTR. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on MicroStrategy in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $194.00 target price for the company. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of MicroStrategy from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of MicroStrategy from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of MicroStrategy from $185.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Maxim Group increased their price objective on shares of MicroStrategy from $183.50 to $193.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $212.50.

MicroStrategy Trading Up 11.6 %

NASDAQ:MSTR opened at $215.86 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.22 and a beta of 3.11. MicroStrategy has a 52 week low of $32.81 and a 52 week high of $227.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $151.88 and a 200 day moving average of $147.72.

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The software maker reported ($0.57) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by ($0.48). MicroStrategy had a negative net margin of 43.69% and a negative return on equity of 14.72%. The business had revenue of $111.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $121.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis.

About MicroStrategy

MicroStrategy Incorporated provides artificial intelligence-powered enterprise analytics software and services in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. It offers MicroStrategy ONE, which provides non-technical users with the ability to directly access novel and actionable insights for decision-making; and MicroStrategy Cloud for Government service, which offers always-on threat monitoring that meets the rigorous technical and regulatory needs of governments and financial institutions.