Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on NU (NYSE:NU)

Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors purchased 147,320 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 136% compared to the typical daily volume of 62,369 call options.

NU Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE NU opened at $11.66 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.58. The firm has a market cap of $56.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.95. NU has a 1 year low of $11.20 and a 1 year high of $18.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

NU (NYSE:NU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 15th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. NU had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 30.91%. On average, research analysts forecast that NU will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NU shares. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of NU in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of NU from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Itau BBA Securities restated an “outperform” rating on shares of NU in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of NU to a “sector perform” rating and set a $13.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Susquehanna downgraded shares of NU from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.08.

Insider Transactions at NU

In other NU news, CEO Cristina Helena Zing Junqueira sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.81, for a total transaction of $4,443,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,312,338 shares in the company, valued at $34,245,725.78. This represents a 11.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Anita M. Sands sold 21,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.24, for a total transaction of $257,040.00. Following the sale, the director owned 162,150 shares in the company, valued at $1,984,716. The trade was a 11.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in NU by 14,810.0% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,481 shares during the last quarter. LOM Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in NU in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in NU in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in NU by 5,448.3% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in NU during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 84.02% of the company’s stock.

About NU

Nu Holdings Ltd (NYSE: NU), commonly known by its consumer brand Nubank, is a Latin American financial technology company that provides digital banking and financial services through a mobile-first platform. The company’s core offerings include no-fee digital checking accounts, credit cards, personal loans, payments and transfers, and a range of savings and investment products. Nubank emphasizes a streamlined customer experience delivered via its smartphone app, combined with data-driven underwriting and automated customer service tools.

Founded in 2013 by David Vélez, Cristina Junqueira and Edward Wible, Nu grew rapidly by targeting underbanked and digitally savvy consumers in Latin America with low-fee, transparent products.