Mattel Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:MAT)

Mattel, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 3,900 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 432% compared to the average volume of 733 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mattel

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Mattel by 584.3% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mattel during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mattel during the third quarter worth about $34,000. West Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mattel by 9,775.0% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Mattel by 38.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. 97.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mattel Stock Up 13.3 %

MAT traded up $2.40 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $20.47. The company had a trading volume of 5,598,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,696,536. The company has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $18.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Mattel has a 52 week low of $15.87 and a 52 week high of $21.35.

Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.15. Mattel had a return on equity of 25.39% and a net margin of 10.24%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mattel will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MAT. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Mattel from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $20.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut Mattel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Mattel in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Mattel from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Mattel from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mattel presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

About Mattel

Mattel, Inc, a toy and family entertainment company, designs, manufactures, and markets toys and consumer products in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through North America, International, and American Girl segments. It offers dolls and accessories, as well as books, content, gaming, and lifestyle products for children under the Barbie, American Girl, Disney Princess and Disney Frozen, Monster High, and Polly Pocket brands; die-cast vehicles, tracks, playsets, and accessories for kids, adults, and collectors under the Hot Wheels, Hot Wheels Monster Trucks, Hot Wheels Mario Kart, Matchbox, and Cars brand names; and infant, toddler, and preschool products comprising content, toys, live events, and other consumer products under the Fisher-Price, Little People and Imaginext, and Thomas & Friends, and Power wheels brands.