Paramount Global Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:PARA)

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders acquired 20,979 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 24% compared to the typical daily volume of 16,902 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Paramount Global from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Paramount Global in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Paramount Global in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Paramount Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $12.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.92.

Paramount Global Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PARA opened at $11.73 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $11.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.31. Paramount Global has a 12-month low of $9.54 and a 12-month high of $14.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.29). Paramount Global had a negative net margin of 18.89% and a positive return on equity of 5.81%. The company had revenue of $7.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.07 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Paramount Global will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Paramount Global Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. Paramount Global’s payout ratio is currently -2.15%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Paramount Global by 140.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,395 shares in the last quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Paramount Global in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ossiam raised its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 57.2% during the 4th quarter. Ossiam now owns 2,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Paramount Global during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Paramount Global by 187.8% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 3,094 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.00% of the company’s stock.

Paramount Global Company Profile

Paramount Global operates as a media, streaming, and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through TV Media, Direct-to-Consumer, and Filmed Entertainment segments. The TV Media segment operates CBS Television Network, a domestic broadcast television network; CBS Stations, a television station; and international free-to-air networks comprising Network 10, Channel 5, Telefe, and Chilevisión; domestic premium and basic cable networks, such as Paramount+ with Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, The Smithsonian Channel, Nickelodeon, BET Media Group, and CBS Sports Network; and international extensions of these brands.