GameStop Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:GME)

GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders acquired 335,613 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 46% compared to the typical volume of 230,269 call options.

Insider Activity

In other GameStop news, CEO Ryan Cohen purchased 500,000 shares of GameStop stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $21.55 per share, with a total value of $10,775,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 37,347,842 shares in the company, valued at $804,845,995.10. This trade represents a 1.36 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel William Moore sold 1,608 shares of GameStop stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.53, for a total transaction of $36,228.24. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at $670,875.81. This represents a 5.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders purchased 515,000 shares of company stock worth $11,140,200 in the last quarter. 12.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On GameStop

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of GameStop by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,144,063 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,226,775,000 after acquiring an additional 2,036,032 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in GameStop by 38.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,143,759 shares of the company's stock worth $255,526,000 after buying an additional 3,070,571 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of GameStop by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,659,234 shares of the company's stock worth $208,769,000 after buying an additional 380,554 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of GameStop by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,610,264 shares of the company's stock valued at $113,146,000 after buying an additional 107,354 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in GameStop by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,171,303 shares of the company's stock worth $99,389,000 after acquiring an additional 659,345 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 29.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on GME shares. Wedbush set a $11.50 price objective on GameStop in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of GameStop from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th.

GameStop Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:GME traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $26.96. 10,569,350 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,384,527. GameStop has a 12 month low of $9.95 and a 12 month high of $64.83. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $24.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 149.79 and a beta of -0.44.

GameStop (NYSE:GME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.48 billion. GameStop had a net margin of 1.45% and a return on equity of 2.11%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 28.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.21 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that GameStop will post 0.08 earnings per share for the current year.

About GameStop

GameStop Corp., a specialty retailer, provides games and entertainment products through its stores and ecommerce platforms in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe. The company sells new and pre-owned gaming platforms; accessories, such as controllers, gaming headsets, and virtual reality products; new and pre-owned gaming software; and in-game digital currency, digital downloadable content, and full-game downloads.