Vodafone Group Public Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:VOD)

Vodafone Group Public Limited (NASDAQ:VOD) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Investors purchased 36,088 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 514% compared to the average volume of 5,874 call options.

Vodafone Group Public Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VOD traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $9.54. 5,233,070 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,312,198. The firm has a market cap of $24.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.37, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $8.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $9.07. Vodafone Group Public has a twelve month low of $8.00 and a twelve month high of $10.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vodafone Group Public

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 341.2% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 4,146,322 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $35,202,000 after purchasing an additional 3,206,506 shares during the period. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in Vodafone Group Public during the 4th quarter valued at $22,646,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Vodafone Group Public during the fourth quarter valued at about $21,969,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 14,598,375 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock worth $123,940,000 after purchasing an additional 2,238,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Vodafone Group Public by 177.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,356,455 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock valued at $33,632,000 after purchasing an additional 2,145,085 shares during the period. 7.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VOD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Vodafone Group Public from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. DZ Bank upgraded Vodafone Group Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Vodafone Group Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Vodafone Group Public Company Profile

Vodafone Group Public Limited Company provides telecommunication services in Europe and internationally. It offers mobile connectivity services comprising end-to-end services for mobile voice and data, messaging, device management, BYOx, and telecoms management, as well as professional and consulting services; and fixed line connectivity, such as fixed voice and data, broadband, software-defined networks, managed WAN, LAN, ethernet, and satellite; and financial services, as well as business and merchant services.