NU Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:NU)

Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 147,320 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 136% compared to the average daily volume of 62,369 call options.

NU Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NU traded down $1.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $11.89. The company had a trading volume of 59,438,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 54,866,176. The stock has a market cap of $57.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.95. NU has a 12 month low of $11.71 and a 12 month high of $18.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.64.

NU (NYSE:NU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 15th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $5.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. NU had a return on equity of 30.91% and a net margin of 18.20%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NU will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NU news, CEO Cristina Helena Zing Junqueira sold 300,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.81, for a total transaction of $4,443,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,312,338 shares in the company, valued at $34,245,725.78. This trade represents a 11.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Anita M. Sands sold 21,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.24, for a total value of $257,040.00. Following the sale, the director owned 162,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,984,716. This trade represents a 11.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information.

Institutional Trading of NU

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in NU during the 4th quarter valued at $763,792,000. Larch Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in NU during the 4th quarter valued at $605,829,000. Lone Pine Capital LLC bought a new stake in NU during the 3rd quarter valued at $406,757,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in NU by 82.6% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 39,370,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $659,067,000 after acquiring an additional 17,809,644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squadra Investments Gestao DE Recursos LTDA. raised its stake in NU by 266.8% during the 1st quarter. Squadra Investments Gestao DE Recursos LTDA. now owns 22,312,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,631,000 after acquiring an additional 16,229,515 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $10.00 price objective (down from $16.00) on shares of NU in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group decreased their target price on NU from $18.10 to $16.90 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered NU from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. CICC Research assumed coverage on NU in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. Finally, Zacks Research lowered NU from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NU currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.79.

NU Company Profile

Nu Holdings Ltd (NYSE: NU), commonly known by its consumer brand Nubank, is a Latin American financial technology company that provides digital banking and financial services through a mobile-first platform. The company’s core offerings include no-fee digital checking accounts, credit cards, personal loans, payments and transfers, and a range of savings and investment products. Nubank emphasizes a streamlined customer experience delivered via its smartphone app, combined with data-driven underwriting and automated customer service tools.

Founded in 2013 by David Vélez, Cristina Junqueira and Edward Wible, Nu grew rapidly by targeting underbanked and digitally savvy consumers in Latin America with low-fee, transparent products.