Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on International Paper (NYSE:IP)

International Paper (NYSE:IP) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 22,378 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 369% compared to the average daily volume of 4,770 call options.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP James P. Jr. Royalty sold 5,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.75, for a total transaction of $201,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 69,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,414,708. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 8,800 shares of company stock valued at $310,438 in the last ninety days. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On International Paper

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in International Paper by 45.5% in the first quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 675 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in International Paper by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,081 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of International Paper by 0.5% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 60,897 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,376,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems boosted its stake in shares of International Paper by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 27,685 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of International Paper by 3.9% in the second quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,925 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. 81.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

International Paper Price Performance

Shares of International Paper stock opened at $35.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.00 and a beta of 0.99. International Paper has a one year low of $29.00 and a one year high of $41.28.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. International Paper had a return on equity of 8.87% and a net margin of 1.52%. The firm had revenue of $4.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that International Paper will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on IP. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of International Paper in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on International Paper from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Bank of America upgraded International Paper from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com downgraded International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of International Paper in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, International Paper currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.13.

About International Paper

International Paper Company produces and sells renewable fiber-based packaging and pulp products in North America, Latin America, Europe, and North Africa. It operates through two segments, Industrial Packaging and Global Cellulose Fibers. The company offers linerboard, medium, whitetop, recycled linerboard, recycled medium and saturating kraft; and pulp for a range of applications, such as diapers, towel and tissue products, feminine care, incontinence, and other personal care products, as well as specialty pulps for use in textiles, construction materials, paints, coatings, and others.