Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB)

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors acquired 12,405 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 4,444% compared to the average daily volume of 273 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AB. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Zacks Research lowered AllianceBernstein from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on AllianceBernstein from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “negative” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.83.

AllianceBernstein Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of AB opened at $42.35 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $39.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.72. AllianceBernstein has a twelve month low of $32.28 and a twelve month high of $43.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.93, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.86.

Institutional Trading of AllianceBernstein

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in AllianceBernstein by 51.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 916,574 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $35,114,000 after purchasing an additional 312,878 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in AllianceBernstein by 1,154.2% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 336,502 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $12,861,000 after purchasing an additional 309,673 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 2.5% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 299,685 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $11,454,000 after acquiring an additional 7,450 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 196,443 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,508,000 after purchasing an additional 21,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of AllianceBernstein by 11.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 194,030 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $7,416,000 after buying an additional 20,338 shares in the last quarter. 19.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AllianceBernstein Company Profile

AllianceBernstein is a global investment management firm that offers a broad range of research-driven strategies across equities, fixed income, multi-asset solutions and alternative investments. The firm provides active and quantitative portfolio management, drawing on in-house research capabilities to serve the needs of institutional clients, private wealth investors and intermediaries. Its product lineup encompasses mutual funds, separately managed accounts and customized investment vehicles designed to meet diverse risk-return objectives.

The firm’s roots date back to 1967 with the founding of Sanford C.