Xerox Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:XRX)

Xerox Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:XRX) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 1,689 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,369% compared to the average daily volume of 115 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on XRX. Zacks Research raised shares of Xerox from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Weiss Ratings began coverage on shares of Xerox in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. They set a “sell (d-)” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $2.50 price target (down previously from $3.50) on shares of Xerox in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xerox has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $2.50.

Xerox Stock Performance

Xerox stock opened at $1.97 on Thursday. Xerox has a fifty-two week low of $1.86 and a fifty-two week high of $8.14. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.94, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $252.24 million, a P/E ratio of -0.24 and a beta of 1.72.

Xerox (NASDAQ:XRX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The information technology services provider reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.08 billion. Xerox had a negative return on equity of 8.26% and a negative net margin of 14.65%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.36 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Xerox will post 1.07 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xerox

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Xerox in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Xerox in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Cidel Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Xerox in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Xerox during the 2nd quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, Williams & Novak LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xerox during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.36% of the company’s stock.

Xerox Company Profile

Xerox Holdings Corporation (NYSE: XRX) is a global provider of document management technology and services. The company designs and manufactures a broad range of multifunction printers, production printers, digital presses and related consumables. In addition to its hardware offerings, Xerox delivers software and workflow automation solutions, managed print services and cloud-based document platforms that help organizations optimize their information-intensive processes.

Founded in 1906 as The Haloid Photographic Company, Xerox pioneered xerographic imaging in the late 1940s, launching the first plain-paper copier in 1959.