Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of NU Call Options (NYSE:NU)

Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors bought 123,974 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 67% compared to the average daily volume of 74,309 call options.

NU Stock Performance

NU stock opened at $14.38 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $69.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.73. NU has a fifty-two week low of $11.20 and a fifty-two week high of $18.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

NU (NYSE:NU) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 15th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $5.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. NU had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 30.91%. Sell-side analysts predict that NU will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NU declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, June 4th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NU news, Director Anita M. Sands sold 21,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.24, for a total value of $257,040.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 162,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,984,716. This trade represents a 11.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. LOM Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of NU during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in shares of NU by 14,810.0% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,481 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NU by 5,448.3% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 1,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,580 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of NU in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in NU in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. 84.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NU shares. Scotiabank lowered shares of NU to a “sector perform” rating and set a $13.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of NU in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of NU from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Susquehanna lowered shares of NU from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut NU from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.24.

NU Company Profile

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.