Comcast Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:CMCSA)

Comcast Co. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock traders purchased 40,917 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 124% compared to the average volume of 18,235 call options.

Comcast Stock Up 0.4 %

CMCSA stock opened at $37.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.72. Comcast has a fifty-two week low of $36.15 and a fifty-two week high of $47.11. The company has a market capitalization of $143.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $39.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.14.

Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The cable giant reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.06. Comcast had a net margin of 11.92% and a return on equity of 19.81%. The business had revenue of $32.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Comcast will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Pivotal Research lifted their target price on Comcast from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Comcast from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. KeyCorp upped their price target on Comcast from $44.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on Comcast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Comcast from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Comcast

In other news, CEO Brian L. Roberts sold 234,464 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total value of $10,002,234.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,669,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $284,539,128.48. This represents a 3.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael J. Cavanagh sold 25,537 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total value of $1,087,620.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 534,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,779,218.91. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Comcast

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of Comcast by 55,334.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,273,052 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $345,565,000 after buying an additional 8,258,128 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Comcast by 5.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 117,420,328 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $4,904,647,000 after purchasing an additional 6,062,658 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Comcast by 92.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,722,620 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $339,223,000 after purchasing an additional 4,182,525 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Comcast by 530.5% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,429,298 shares of the cable giant’s stock worth $143,242,000 after purchasing an additional 2,885,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Darsana Capital Partners LP raised its position in shares of Comcast by 26.7% during the 2nd quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 9,500,000 shares of the cable giant’s stock valued at $372,020,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.32% of the company’s stock.

About Comcast

Comcast Corporation operates as a media and technology company worldwide. It operates through Residential Connectivity & Platforms, Business Services Connectivity, Media, Studios, and Theme Parks segments. The Residential Connectivity & Platforms segment provides residential broadband and wireless connectivity services, residential and business video services, sky-branded entertainment television networks, and advertising.