iShares MSCI Japan ETF Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSEARCA:EWJ)

iShares MSCI Japan ETF (NYSEARCA:EWJ) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders acquired 32,736 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 467% compared to the average daily volume of 5,769 call options.

iShares MSCI Japan ETF Stock Down 4.7%

EWJ stock opened at $80.85 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.75. iShares MSCI Japan ETF has a 12-month low of $59.84 and a 12-month high of $85.31. The firm has a market cap of $15.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63 and a beta of 0.68.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iShares MSCI Japan ETF

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new stake in iShares MSCI Japan ETF in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,574,000. Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. bought a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,714,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 94.2% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,001,860 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $68,259,000 after purchasing an additional 485,932 shares during the period. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 37.3% in the first quarter. Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. Ltd. now owns 173,000 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $11,861,000 after buying an additional 47,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its position in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 11.2% during the first quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 55,020 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $3,780,000 after acquiring an additional 5,531 shares in the last quarter. 64.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About iShares MSCI Japan ETF

iShares MSCI Japan ETF (the fund), formerly Ishares Msci Japan Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of publicly traded securities in the Japanese market, as measured by the MSCI Japan Index (the Index).