Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ)

Marqeta, Inc. (NASDAQ:MQ) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 6,605 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 178% compared to the average daily volume of 2,379 call options.

Marqeta Stock Performance

MQ stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $3.93. 1,530,838 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,458,936. Marqeta has a 1-year low of $3.37 and a 1-year high of $7.36. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.80. The firm has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 196.50 and a beta of 1.52.

Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $127.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $128.05 million. Marqeta had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 1.20%. The company’s revenue was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.07) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Marqeta will post 0.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Marqeta

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Marqeta by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 60,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,481 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in Marqeta by 5.7% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 460,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,523,000 after buying an additional 25,012 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Marqeta by 6.5% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 116,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $637,000 after buying an additional 7,097 shares during the period. ClariVest Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Marqeta by 481.4% in the second quarter. ClariVest Asset Management LLC now owns 439,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,408,000 after buying an additional 363,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marqeta by 197.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 286,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,567,000 after acquiring an additional 189,882 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Marqeta from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $7.00 to $5.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Marqeta from $4.50 to $4.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $4.00 target price (down previously from $5.00) on shares of Marqeta in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. KeyCorp lowered Marqeta from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Marqeta from $7.00 to $5.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Marqeta currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.97.

About Marqeta

Marqeta, Inc operates a cloud-based open application programming interface platform that delivers card issuing and transaction processing services. It offers its solutions in various verticals, including financial services, on-demand services, expense management, and e-commerce enablement, as well as buy now, pay later.