Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Garrett Motion (NYSE:GTX)

Garrett Motion Inc. (NYSE:GTX) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 5,024 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 334% compared to the typical volume of 1,158 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GTX. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Garrett Motion in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $180,383,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Garrett Motion by 51.0% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 7,715,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,090,000 after purchasing an additional 2,605,296 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in Garrett Motion by 45.8% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 6,235,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,683,000 after buying an additional 1,958,808 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Garrett Motion by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,424,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,120,000 after buying an additional 234,735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Garrett Motion by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,881,043 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,655,000 after buying an additional 380,729 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.27% of the company’s stock.

Garrett Motion Trading Down 1.0%

GTX stock opened at $20.60 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a PE ratio of 16.22 and a beta of 0.33. Garrett Motion has a 12-month low of $7.01 and a 12-month high of $21.21. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $17.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.58.

Garrett Motion announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 3rd that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GTX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Garrett Motion in a report on Monday, October 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded Garrett Motion from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Garrett Motion in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $23.00 price target for the company. BWS Financial raised their price objective on Garrett Motion from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Garrett Motion from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $18.80.

Garrett Motion Company Profile

Garrett Motion Inc is a technology leader specializing in the design, development and manufacture of turbocharging systems and related technologies for the global automotive industry. Its product portfolio includes conventional exhaust gas turbochargers, variable-geometry turbochargers, electric and e-boost turbochargers, as well as electronic actuators, sensors and thermal management systems. The company’s solutions are engineered to improve engine efficiency, reduce emissions and support automakers’ efforts to meet evolving regulatory standards for fuel economy and air quality.

Garrett Motion traces its roots to the founding of AiResearch by Cliff Garrett in 1936, a pioneer in aircraft and automotive turbocharging technologies.