Mastercard Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:MA)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jun 7th, 2023

Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA – Get Rating) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors acquired 21,280 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 51% compared to the average volume of 14,125 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MA. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $450.00 to $453.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Mastercard in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $392.00 to $404.00 in a report on Friday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Mastercard from $438.00 to $440.00 in a report on Friday, April 28th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $435.00 to $440.00 in a report on Friday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $417.27.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In other Mastercard news, insider Timothy H. Murphy sold 27,417 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.49, for a total transaction of $10,267,392.33. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 39,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,703,600.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Raghuvir Malhotra sold 11,398 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.62, for a total transaction of $4,349,704.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,612,033.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy H. Murphy sold 27,417 shares of Mastercard stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.49, for a total transaction of $10,267,392.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 39,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,703,600.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 542,079 shares of company stock valued at $207,174,711. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mastercard

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MA. Aspire Private Capital LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter worth about $18,897,320,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. bought a new position in Mastercard in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Graham Capital Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the first quarter worth about $268,923,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.51% of the company’s stock.

Mastercard Price Performance

MA stock opened at $379.96 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $373.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $363.70. Mastercard has a 12-month low of $276.87 and a 12-month high of $392.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $360.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.96, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The credit services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.09. Mastercard had a net margin of 42.33% and a return on equity of 169.12%. The firm had revenue of $5.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Mastercard will post 12.27 earnings per share for the current year.

About Mastercard

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Mastercard, Inc is a technology company, which engages in the payments industry that connects consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments, and business. It offers payment solutions for the development and implementation of credit, debit, prepaid, commercial, and payment programs. The company was founded in November 1966 and is headquartered in Purchase, NY.