iRobot Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:IRBT)

iRobot Co. (NASDAQ:IRBT) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 9,949 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 193% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,399 call options.

iRobot Stock Down 5.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ IRBT opened at $9.12 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $8.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.17. The company has a market cap of $278.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.98 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. iRobot has a 12-month low of $5.83 and a 12-month high of $14.51.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IRBT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in iRobot by 2,712.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 400,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,480,000 after purchasing an additional 386,189 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of iRobot in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,556,000. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of iRobot by 234.2% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 73,597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $640,000 after acquiring an additional 51,575 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in shares of iRobot by 128.9% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 70,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $617,000 after acquiring an additional 39,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of iRobot by 250.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,369 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 26,694 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of iRobot in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of iRobot from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 25th.

About iRobot

iRobot Corporation designs, builds, and sells robots and home innovation products in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, and internationally. The company offers floor care products, including Roomba floor vacuuming robots; Roomba accessories and consumables, such as the Clean Base Automatic Dirt Disposal, replacement dirt disposal bags for the Clean Base, filters, brushes, and batteries; Braava family of automatic floor mopping robots; and Braava accessories and consumables, which include cleaning solution, washable and disposable mopping pads, replacement tanks, and batteries, as well as subscription services.