Mattel Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:MAT)

Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 3,900 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 432% compared to the average daily volume of 733 call options.

Mattel Trading Up 15.3 %

Shares of Mattel stock opened at $20.84 on Thursday. Mattel has a 1 year low of $15.87 and a 1 year high of $21.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $18.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.88. The firm has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.76.

Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.15. Mattel had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 25.39%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mattel will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mattel

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MAT. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Mattel by 449.9% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 291,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,562,000 after purchasing an additional 238,884 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mattel in the third quarter worth about $1,003,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mattel by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,263,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,222,000 after acquiring an additional 114,305 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Mattel by 53.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 172,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,283,000 after acquiring an additional 59,845 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Mattel by 101.0% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 168,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,208,000 after acquiring an additional 84,626 shares during the last quarter. 97.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Mattel from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded Mattel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America boosted their price target on Mattel from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Mattel from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Mattel from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.57.

Mattel Company Profile

Mattel, Inc, a toy and family entertainment company, designs, manufactures, and markets toys and consumer products in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through North America, International, and American Girl segments. It offers dolls and accessories, as well as books, content, gaming, and lifestyle products for children under the Barbie, American Girl, Disney Princess and Disney Frozen, Monster High, and Polly Pocket brands; die-cast vehicles, tracks, playsets, and accessories for kids, adults, and collectors under the Hot Wheels, Hot Wheels Monster Trucks, Hot Wheels Mario Kart, Matchbox, and Cars brand names; and infant, toddler, and preschool products comprising content, toys, live events, and other consumer products under the Fisher-Price, Little People and Imaginext, and Thomas & Friends, and Power wheels brands.