Cipher Mining Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:CIFR)

Cipher Mining Inc. (NASDAQ:CIFR) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 17,870 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 33% compared to the average daily volume of 13,449 call options.

Cipher Mining Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CIFR traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $4.76. The stock had a trading volume of 5,335,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,740,756. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.61 and a beta of 2.29. Cipher Mining has a 1-year low of $2.15 and a 1-year high of $7.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 2.57. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.92.

Cipher Mining (NASDAQ:CIFR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported ($0.26) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.18). Cipher Mining had a negative net margin of 33.39% and a negative return on equity of 8.29%. The business had revenue of $24.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.84 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.07) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cipher Mining will post -0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CIFR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Cipher Mining from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $8.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Cipher Mining in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Northland Securities lifted their price target on shares of Cipher Mining from $6.00 to $8.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Capmk raised shares of Cipher Mining to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $7.00 target price on shares of Cipher Mining in a report on Friday, November 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $8.03.

Insider Activity at Cipher Mining

In other news, major shareholder Top Holdco B.V. Bitfury sold 1,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.22, for a total transaction of $6,220,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 99,047,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $616,075,997.36. The trade was a 1.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Patrick Arthur Kelly sold 89,742 shares of Cipher Mining stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.37, for a total value of $392,172.54. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 717,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,135,173.47. This represents a 11.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,446,623 shares of company stock worth $9,000,561. Corporate insiders own 2.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cipher Mining

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CIFR. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Cipher Mining by 243.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 549,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,279,000 after purchasing an additional 389,079 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Cipher Mining by 93.5% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 21,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 10,380 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cipher Mining during the second quarter valued at $88,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in Cipher Mining by 253.7% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 226,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $942,000 after purchasing an additional 162,749 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Cipher Mining by 21.7% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 23,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 4,256 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.26% of the company’s stock.

About Cipher Mining

Cipher Mining Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development and operation of industrial scale bitcoin mining data centers in the United States. The company was incorporated in 2020 and is based in New York, New York. Cipher Mining Inc operates as a subsidiary of Bitfury Holding B.V.