Traders Purchase Large Volume of Xerox Put Options (NASDAQ:XRX)

Xerox Holdings Co. (NASDAQ:XRX) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 1,689 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 1,369% compared to the average daily volume of 115 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on XRX shares. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $2.50 price target (down from $3.50) on shares of Xerox in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Xerox from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings initiated coverage on Xerox in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. They issued a “sell (d-)” rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xerox currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $2.50.

Xerox Stock Performance

Shares of XRX stock opened at $2.29 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $2.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $293.21 million, a PE ratio of -0.28 and a beta of 1.72. Xerox has a 52-week low of $2.03 and a 52-week high of $8.57.

Shares of Xerox are scheduled to split before the market opens on Monday, February 9th. The 3-2 split was recently announced. The newly created shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Sunday, February 8th.

Xerox (NASDAQ:XRX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The information technology services provider reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by ($0.25). Xerox had a negative net margin of 14.65% and a negative return on equity of 8.26%. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Xerox will post 1.07 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Xerox in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Xerox in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Socha Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xerox in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Xerox during the third quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Xerox in the second quarter worth $44,000. 85.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Xerox

Xerox Holdings Corporation (NYSE: XRX) is a global provider of document management technology and services. The company designs and manufactures a broad range of multifunction printers, production printers, digital presses and related consumables. In addition to its hardware offerings, Xerox delivers software and workflow automation solutions, managed print services and cloud-based document platforms that help organizations optimize their information-intensive processes.

Founded in 1906 as The Haloid Photographic Company, Xerox pioneered xerographic imaging in the late 1940s, launching the first plain-paper copier in 1959.