Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL)

Burlington Stores, Inc. (NYSE:BURL) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors acquired 7,243 put options on the company. This is an increase of 138% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,037 put options.

Key Burlington Stores News

Here are the key news stories impacting Burlington Stores this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat — Burlington delivered $4.99 EPS (vs. ~$4.70 consensus), revenue of ~$3.65B and 4% comps with margin expansion, driving 21% EPS growth for the year; this underpins the bullish case for durable off‑price demand. Earnings Release
• Positive Sentiment: FY 2026 guidance raised — Burlington set FY EPS guidance of $10.95–$11.45 (above consensus) and increased revenue guidance, reinforcing longer‑term earnings upside. Guidance/Seeking Alpha
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts materially bumped targets — Citi, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan, Robert W. Baird and others raised price targets and ratings (Wells to $400, Citi to $380, JPMorgan to $365, Baird to $375), signaling strong sell‑side conviction on upside. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: Media/analysis context — Coverage (Barron’s, Seeking Alpha, Zacks) highlights that Burlington’s performance could make comp growth more predictable, but notes the company still faces retail cyclicality and tariff/price dynamics. Barron’s
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term guide miss concerns — Q1 EPS guidance of $1.60–$1.75 is below some Street estimates, which can prompt short‑term profit‑taking despite the stronger FY view. Company Press Release (guidance)
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual options activity — heavy put buying (notable jump in put volume) signals hedging or bearish bets, which can amplify downward pressure in volatile trading. (Reported market options flow)

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BURL. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Burlington Stores in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Burlington Stores from $351.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $370.00 price objective on shares of Burlington Stores in a report on Thursday. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective on shares of Burlington Stores in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $365.00 target price (up from $350.00) on shares of Burlington Stores in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $355.44.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Burlington Stores

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Burlington Stores by 303,059.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,912,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $552,552,000 after purchasing an additional 1,912,305 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Burlington Stores during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $224,971,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. lifted its holdings in Burlington Stores by 103.5% in the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,285,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,269,000 after buying an additional 653,718 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Burlington Stores by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,828,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $817,122,000 after buying an additional 386,615 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Burlington Stores by 121.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 595,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,143,000 after acquiring an additional 326,328 shares in the last quarter.

Burlington Stores Trading Down 4.9%

NYSE BURL opened at $305.68 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.24 billion, a PE ratio of 32.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.73. Burlington Stores has a 1-year low of $212.92 and a 1-year high of $332.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $303.17 and a 200-day moving average of $283.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $4.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.70 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. Burlington Stores had a return on equity of 41.37% and a net margin of 5.28%.Burlington Stores’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.07 EPS. Burlington Stores has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.950-11.450 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.600-1.750 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Burlington Stores will post 7.93 EPS for the current year.

About Burlington Stores

Burlington Stores, Inc is an American off-price retailer that sells apparel and home goods at discounted prices. The company’s merchandise assortment includes clothing for women, men and children, plus baby products, footwear, accessories, beauty items, toys and home décor. Burlington’s merchandising strategy focuses on offering branded and private-label goods at lower prices than traditional department stores by sourcing excess inventory, closeouts and opportunistic buys from manufacturers and other retailers.

The business traces its roots to the Burlington Coat Factory name established in the early 1970s and has since evolved into a broader off-price retailer that carries a wide range of seasonal and everyday merchandise.