Abercrombie & Fitch Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:ANF)

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 17,959 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 74% compared to the typical daily volume of 10,350 put options.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE ANF traded up $2.23 on Friday, reaching $130.34. The company had a trading volume of 1,940,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,595,755. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.57 billion, a PE ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 1.52. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 12 month low of $95.51 and a 12 month high of $196.99. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $147.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $149.12.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.63 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ANF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group raised shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $173.00 to $220.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abercrombie & Fitch currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $182.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Scott D. Lipesky sold 8,605 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.20, for a total value of $1,292,471.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 97,850 shares in the company, valued at $14,697,070. This represents a 8.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Samir Desai sold 5,926 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total value of $880,070.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,059 shares in the company, valued at $3,275,982.09. This trade represents a 21.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,401 shares of company stock valued at $2,631,741. Insiders own 2.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 5.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,221,890 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $171,815,000 after purchasing an additional 63,157 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,017,720 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $142,379,000 after buying an additional 204,901 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 873,148 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $155,281,000 after buying an additional 120,509 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 870,143 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $121,733,000 after acquiring an additional 60,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 3.0% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 569,828 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $79,719,000 after acquiring an additional 16,754 shares in the last quarter.

Abercrombie & Fitch Company Profile

Abercrombie & Fitch Co, through its subsidiaries, operates as an omnichannel retailer in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and internationally. The company offers an assortment of apparel, personal care products, and accessories for men, women, and kids under the Abercrombie & Fitch, abercrombie kids, Hollister, and Gilly Hicks brands.