Traders Buy High Volume of Shopify Call Options (NYSE:SHOP)

Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP) (TSE:SHOP) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 64,822 call options on the stock. Thisisanincreaseof33% compared to the average volume of 48,610 call options.

Shopify Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of SHOP opened at $141.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $183.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.27, a PEG ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 2.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $121.52 and a 200-day moving average of $109.14. Shopify has a 52 week low of $65.86 and a 52 week high of $156.85.

Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) (TSE:SHOP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The software maker reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.55 billion. Shopify had a return on equity of 12.00% and a net margin of 22.74%. The business’s revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Shopify will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SHOP. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Shopify from $125.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Shopify from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on Shopify from $110.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. JMP Securities raised their target price on Shopify from $135.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Shopify from $110.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have given a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.51.

Institutional Trading of Shopify

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Shopify by 47.5% in the 2nd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 233 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Shopify by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 631 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in Shopify by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 889 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. LM Advisors LLC boosted its position in Shopify by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. LM Advisors LLC now owns 4,045 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $467,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Prosperity Consulting Group LLC boosted its position in Shopify by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 6,011 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $693,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.27% of the company’s stock.

About Shopify

Shopify Inc, a commerce company, provides a commerce platform and services in Canada, the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, China, and Latin America. The company’s platform enables merchants to displays, manages, markets, and sells its products through various sales channels, including web and mobile storefronts, physical retail locations, pop-up shops, social media storefronts, native mobile apps, buy buttons, and marketplaces; and enables to manage products and inventory, process orders and payments, fulfill and ship orders, new buyers and build customer relationships, source products, leverage analytics and reporting, manage cash, payments and transactions, and access financing.