Investors Purchase Large Volume of Strategy Call Options (NASDAQ:MSTR)

Strategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 775,524 call options on the company. This is an increase of 33% compared to the typical volume of 584,848 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MSTR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods started coverage on Strategy in a research note on Friday, February 7th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $560.00 price target for the company. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Strategy in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $515.00 target price for the company. Maxim Group increased their price target on shares of Strategy from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Strategy from $613.00 to $619.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded Strategy from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $220.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Strategy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $508.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jarrod M. Patten sold 1,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.01, for a total value of $581,417.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,699,789.70. This represents a 25.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Wei-Ming Shao purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $85.00 per share, for a total transaction of $42,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,500. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 8,000 shares of company stock valued at $680,000 and sold 34,698 shares valued at $11,403,343. Company insiders own 9.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MSTR. Argent Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Strategy by 29.4% during the first quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 11,000 shares of the software maker's stock worth $3,171,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in shares of Strategy by 43.0% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 12,455 shares of the software maker's stock worth $3,590,000 after buying an additional 3,747 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Strategy by 27.4% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 528,850 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $152,452,000 after acquiring an additional 113,752 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Strategy by 21.1% during the 1st quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 705 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Strategy during the 1st quarter worth about $88,000. 59.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Strategy Trading Up 5.2 %

NASDAQ MSTR traded up $18.37 on Friday, hitting $368.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 19,291,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,095,762. The firm has a market cap of $94.89 billion, a PE ratio of -65.46 and a beta of 3.46. Strategy has a 1-year low of $101.00 and a 1-year high of $543.00. The company's 50-day moving average is $295.57 and its 200 day moving average is $316.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Strategy (NASDAQ:MSTR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The software maker reported ($3.20) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($3.07). Strategy had a negative net margin of 251.73% and a negative return on equity of 19.01%.

About Strategy

Strategy Incorporated, formerly known as MicroStrategy, provides artificial intelligence-powered enterprise analytics software and services in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. It offers Strategy ONE, a platform that allows non-technical users to access novel and actionable insights for decision-making, and Strategy Cloud for Government, which provides always-on threat monitoring designed to meet the strict technical and regulatory standards of governments and financial institutions.