Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Futu (NASDAQ:FUTU)

Futu Holdings Limited (NASDAQ:FUTU) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 15,221 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 11% compared to the typical daily volume of 13,771 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Futu

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FUTU. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Futu by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 9,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $941,000 after buying an additional 1,650 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Futu in the 3rd quarter valued at about $346,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Futu in the 3rd quarter valued at about $92,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in Futu by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 117,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,245,000 after buying an additional 15,127 shares during the period. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Futu in the 3rd quarter valued at about $784,000.

Futu Trading Up 10.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FUTU opened at $118.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.04, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.78. Futu has a 12 month low of $51.80 and a 12 month high of $130.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $101.39 and its 200 day moving average is $91.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FUTU. Citigroup downgraded shares of Futu from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $79.00 to $95.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Futu from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Futu from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $70.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday, November 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Futu presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.00.

About Futu

Futu Holdings Limited provides digitalized securities brokerage and wealth management product distribution service in Hong Kong and internationally. It offers online financial services, including securities and derivative trades brokerage, margin financing and fund distribution services through its Futubull and Moomoo digital platforms.