Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL)

TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors purchased 11,648 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 119% compared to the average volume of 5,321 put options.

TAL Education Group Price Performance

NYSE TAL opened at $11.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -102.91 and a beta of 0.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $12.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.42. TAL Education Group has a 12 month low of $5.09 and a 12 month high of $15.52.

TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by ($0.02). TAL Education Group had a negative net margin of 5.30% and a negative return on equity of 1.93%. The firm had revenue of $373.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $330.96 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that TAL Education Group will post -0.06 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered TAL Education Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. TheStreet upgraded TAL Education Group from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of TAL Education Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $10.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.37.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TAL. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of TAL Education Group by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 433,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,478,000 after purchasing an additional 43,071 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in TAL Education Group by 10.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 299,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,731,000 after buying an additional 27,400 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in TAL Education Group by 31.5% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,582,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,418,000 after buying an additional 379,000 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of TAL Education Group by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 801,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,300,000 after acquiring an additional 11,518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in shares of TAL Education Group by 110.5% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,610,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,725,000 after acquiring an additional 1,370,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 37.79% of the company’s stock.

TAL Education Group Company Profile

TAL Education Group provides K-12 after-school tutoring services in the People's Republic of China. The company offers tutoring services to K-12 students covering various academic subjects, including mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, history, geography, political science, English, and Chinese.