Marqeta Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:MQ)

Marqeta, Inc. (NASDAQ:MQ) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders acquired 10,000 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 257% compared to the average volume of 2,799 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Marqeta

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MQ. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Marqeta in the fourth quarter worth approximately $72,879,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Marqeta by 5,396.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,169,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,862,000 after acquiring an additional 17,838,535 shares during the period. RPD Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Marqeta in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,289,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Marqeta in the fourth quarter worth approximately $19,717,000. Finally, North Reef Capital Management LP grew its position in Marqeta by 99.7% in the fourth quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 7,786,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,513,000 after acquiring an additional 3,886,999 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on MQ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Marqeta from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Marqeta from $7.00 to $5.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Marqeta from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Marqeta from $5.00 to $4.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Marqeta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $9.00 to $4.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.65.

Marqeta Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MQ opened at $3.69 on Friday. Marqeta has a one year low of $3.37 and a one year high of $7.36. The stock has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of 184.50 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $3.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.43.

About Marqeta

Marqeta, Inc operates a cloud-based open application programming interface platform that delivers card issuing and transaction processing services. It offers its solutions in various verticals, including financial services, on-demand services, expense management, and e-commerce enablement, as well as buy now, pay later.