Investors Purchase High Volume of Paramount Global Call Options (NASDAQ:PARA)

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 78,008 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 16% compared to the average volume of 67,534 call options.

Paramount Global Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PARA traded up $0.81 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $11.53. 28,295,686 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,901,838. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $11.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.33. Paramount Global has a 12 month low of $9.54 and a 12 month high of $17.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -76.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.28. Paramount Global had a positive return on equity of 3.35% and a negative net margin of 0.15%. The firm had revenue of $7.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.09 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Paramount Global will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Paramount Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 17th were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. Paramount Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -133.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paramount Global

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PARA. Kodai Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Paramount Global in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $84,842,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Paramount Global by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,090,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $730,805,000 after acquiring an additional 3,803,928 shares in the last quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC acquired a new position in Paramount Global in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,191,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Paramount Global in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,497,000. Finally, Lingotto Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in Paramount Global by 375.8% in the 4th quarter. Lingotto Investment Management LLP now owns 3,263,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,388,000 after acquiring an additional 2,577,978 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PARA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Paramount Global from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Paramount Global in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Paramount Global in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $9.50 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lowered Paramount Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered Paramount Global from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $9.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.29.

Paramount Global Company Profile

Paramount Global operates as a media, streaming, and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through TV Media, Direct-to-Consumer, and Filmed Entertainment segments. The TV Media segment operates CBS Television Network, a domestic broadcast television network; CBS Stations, a television station; and international free-to-air networks comprising Network 10, Channel 5, Telefe, and Chilevisión; domestic premium and basic cable networks, such as Paramount+ with Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, The Smithsonian Channel, Nickelodeon, BET Media Group, and CBS Sports Network; and international extensions of these brands.