Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Grocery Outlet Call Options (NASDAQ:GO)

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 5,661 call options on the company. This is an increase of 383% compared to the typical volume of 1,172 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group lowered shares of Grocery Outlet from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $15.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Grocery Outlet from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $7.00 target price (down from $18.00) on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Grocery Outlet from $6.00 to $8.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Grocery Outlet from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $10.32.

Insider Activity at Grocery Outlet

In related news, CEO Jason J. N. Potter acquired 110,252 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $6.35 per share, for a total transaction of $700,100.20. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 684,618 shares in the company, valued at $4,347,324.30. This trade represents a 19.20% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Erik D. Ragatz purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $5.75 per share, for a total transaction of $287,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 526,500 shares in the company, valued at $3,027,375. This represents a 10.49% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have acquired a total of 598,905 shares of company stock worth $3,594,147 in the last three months. 4.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Grocery Outlet by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 122,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,713,000 after acquiring an additional 6,736 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Grocery Outlet by 14.1% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 357,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,003,000 after purchasing an additional 44,214 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of Grocery Outlet by 25.4% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 16,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 3,263 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Grocery Outlet by 13.8% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 220,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,738,000 after purchasing an additional 26,725 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Grocery Outlet during the 2nd quarter worth about $149,000. Institutional investors own 99.87% of the company’s stock.

Grocery Outlet Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of Grocery Outlet stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $8.99. 1,941,155 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,390,077. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $7.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.83. Grocery Outlet has a twelve month low of $5.66 and a twelve month high of $19.41. The stock has a market cap of $888.80 million, a P/E ratio of -2.32, a PEG ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 13th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.03. Grocery Outlet had a negative net margin of 8.08% and a positive return on equity of 5.69%. The company had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.13 EPS. Grocery Outlet’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Grocery Outlet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.450-0.550 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Grocery Outlet will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Grocery Outlet Company Profile

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: GO) is a specialty discount retailer that offers consumers deeply discounted groceries by purchasing excess inventory, closeouts, and overstocks from manufacturers and distributors. Headquartered in Emeryville, California, the company operates two primary banners—Grocery Outlet and Fresh2Go—with a combined footprint of more than 400 stores. Its product assortment spans fresh produce, meat, dairy, bakery items, household staples, natural and organic offerings, and select specialty products, all sold at significant markdowns compared to conventional supermarkets.

The company’s unique buying model enables it to source inventory through opportunistic purchases of surplus freight, discontinued items, and closeout deals, which it then passes on as savings to its customers.