Traders Buy High Volume of PepsiCo Call Options (NASDAQ:PEP)

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 93,376 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 102% compared to the average volume of 46,279 call options.

Institutional Trading of PepsiCo

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PepsiCo in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of PepsiCo by 107.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

NASDAQ PEP opened at $151.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.26. The company has a market capitalization of $207.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.46. PepsiCo has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $174.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $145.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.54.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 9th. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $23.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.91 billion. PepsiCo had a net margin of 7.82% and a return on equity of 57.58%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. PepsiCo has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.120-8.120 EPS. Analysts anticipate that PepsiCo will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $152.00 in a report on Friday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $160.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on shares of PepsiCo from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PepsiCo presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $156.95.

PepsiCo Company Profile

PepsiCo, Inc engages in the manufacture, marketing, distribution, and sale of various beverages and convenient foods worldwide. The company operates through seven segments: Frito-Lay North America; Quaker Foods North America; PepsiCo Beverages North America; Latin America; Europe; Africa, Middle East and South Asia; and Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand and China Region.