Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Barclays (NYSE:BCS)

by · The Markets Daily

Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 5,210 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 153% compared to the average daily volume of 2,059 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Barclays

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BCS. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Barclays by 14.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 352,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,412,000 after purchasing an additional 43,607 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Barclays during the 1st quarter worth about $697,000. RWA Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Barclays in the second quarter worth $654,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Barclays by 8,088.1% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 882,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,549,000 after acquiring an additional 871,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Barclays during the 1st quarter valued at about $230,000. 3.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on BCS shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Barclays from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Barclays in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Barclays presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Get Our Latest Research Report on BCS

Barclays Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of BCS traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $23.55. 2,579,809 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,818,109. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $21.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.97. The company has a market cap of $81.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.00. Barclays has a 1-year low of $12.14 and a 1-year high of $23.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.94.

Barclays (NYSE:BCS – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $9.21 billion for the quarter. Barclays had a return on equity of 8.19% and a net margin of 21.26%. Research analysts expect that Barclays will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Barclays Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Barclays PLC provides various financial services in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The company operates through Barclays UK and Barclays International division segments. It offers financial services, such as retail banking, credit cards, wholesale banking, investment banking, wealth management, and investment management services.

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