Uniti Group Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:UNIT)

Uniti Group Inc. (NASDAQ:UNIT) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders purchased 3,881 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 247% compared to the typical volume of 1,120 call options.

Institutional Trading of Uniti Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNIT. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Uniti Group by 775.7% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,811 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 6,919 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Uniti Group during the second quarter valued at about $45,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Uniti Group by 20.6% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 10,511 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,795 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Uniti Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Uniti Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $75,000. 87.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on UNIT shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Uniti Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Barclays set a $8.00 price target on shares of Uniti Group in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Uniti Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Uniti Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Uniti Group from $7.50 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Uniti Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.06.

Uniti Group Trading Up 10.6%

UNIT opened at $8.32 on Friday. Uniti Group has a 12 month low of $5.30 and a 12 month high of $12.34. The company has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a 50 day moving average of $7.11 and a 200 day moving average of $6.48.

Uniti Group Company Profile

Uniti Group Inc is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates and acquires communications infrastructure assets across the United States. Established in September 2015 through a spin-off from Windstream Holdings, Uniti Group focuses on leasing fiber, small cell networks, cell towers and related infrastructure to service providers, wireless carriers and other enterprises requiring high-capacity connectivity. The company’s assets are designed to support the growing data demands of residential, business and governmental customers, with an emphasis on long-term contractual lease arrangements.

Uniti’s portfolio encompasses an extensive fiber network that spans metropolitan and rural markets, as well as a portfolio of wireless towers and small cell nodes that facilitate mobile network densification and help carriers deploy 5G services.