Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Shift4 Payments Put Options (NYSE:FOUR)

Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 6,049 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 199% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,020 put options.

Shift4 Payments Price Performance

NYSE:FOUR traded down $1.19 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $103.66. The stock had a trading volume of 334,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,469,644. Shift4 Payments has a one year low of $55.87 and a one year high of $116.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 2.97 and a current ratio of 2.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $101.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $86.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.70.

Insider Activity at Shift4 Payments

In related news, insider Jordan Frankel sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.01, for a total value of $495,050.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 222,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,991,309.12. This trade represents a 2.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider James J. Whalen sold 1,462 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.07, for a total transaction of $147,764.34. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,748,585.23. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,462 shares of company stock worth $1,211,364. Corporate insiders own 30.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shift4 Payments

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Shift4 Payments in the third quarter worth $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Shift4 Payments in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new stake in Shift4 Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in Shift4 Payments during the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Shift4 Payments during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Institutional investors own 98.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on FOUR shares. Barclays assumed coverage on Shift4 Payments in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Stephens lifted their price target on Shift4 Payments from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Shift4 Payments from $106.00 to $119.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. B. Riley boosted their target price on shares of Shift4 Payments from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Shift4 Payments from $120.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Shift4 Payments presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.40.

Shift4 Payments Company Profile

Shift4 Payments, Inc (NYSE FOUR) provides integrated payment processing and technology solutions in the United States. Its payments platform provides omni-channel card acceptance and processing solutions, including end-to-end payment processing for various payment types; merchant acquiring; proprietary omni-channel gateway; complementary software integrations; integrated and mobile point-of-sale (POS) solutions; security and risk management solutions; and reporting and analytical tools, as well as tokenization, risk management/underwriting, payment device and chargeback management, fraud prevention, and gift card solutions.