Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Smartsheet (NYSE:SMAR)

Smartsheet Inc (NYSE:SMAR) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 4,384 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 157% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,709 put options.

Insider Activity at Smartsheet

In other Smartsheet news, insider Jolene Lau Marshall sold 3,994 shares of Smartsheet stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.11, for a total transaction of $172,181.34. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $714,203.37. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Stephen Robert Branstetter sold 2,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $96,192.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 61,791 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,965,968. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jolene Lau Marshall sold 3,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.11, for a total value of $172,181.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $714,203.37. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,429 shares of company stock valued at $916,925 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 4.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Smartsheet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Smartsheet in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in Smartsheet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in Smartsheet during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Smartsheet by 37.5% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 894 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Smartsheet in the first quarter worth $35,000. 90.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Smartsheet in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Smartsheet from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Smartsheet from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on Smartsheet from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Smartsheet from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.06.

Smartsheet Trading Up 0.5 %

SMAR traded up $0.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $51.05. 223,258 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,512,223. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -81.98 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.10. Smartsheet has a 12-month low of $35.52 and a 12-month high of $54.50.

Smartsheet (NYSE:SMAR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 5th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $276.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $274.23 million. Smartsheet had a negative net margin of 4.07% and a negative return on equity of 4.29%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.23) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Smartsheet will post -0.05 EPS for the current year.

Smartsheet announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 5th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Smartsheet

Smartsheet, Inc engages in managing and automating collaborative work. Its platform provides solutions that eliminate the obstacles to capturing information, including a familiar and intuitive spreadsheet interface as well as easily customizable forms. The company was founded by W. Eric Browne, Maria Colacurcio, John D.