Traders Purchase Large Volume of JD.com Call Options (NASDAQ:JD)

JD.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:JD) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders acquired 118,629 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 51% compared to the typical volume of 78,436 call options.

JD.com Trading Up 6.1 %

JD.com stock traded up $1.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $30.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 22,175,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,687,815. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $25.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.90. JD.com has a 12 month low of $20.82 and a 12 month high of $41.95. The stock has a market cap of $47.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.54.

JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 6th. The information services provider reported $5.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $4.74. JD.com had a net margin of 2.22% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The firm had revenue of $306.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $300.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that JD.com will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

JD.com Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.99%. JD.com’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.74%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aspex Management HK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of JD.com in the 4th quarter worth about $114,009,000. FIL Ltd boosted its position in JD.com by 124.3% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 6,210,546 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $179,423,000 after acquiring an additional 3,441,605 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of JD.com by 292.4% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,436,719 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $120,679,000 after purchasing an additional 3,305,956 shares during the period. Discerene Group LP boosted its position in shares of JD.com by 107.9% during the fourth quarter. Discerene Group LP now owns 3,347,232 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $96,702,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polunin Capital Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in JD.com in the first quarter worth $41,477,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of JD.com from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of JD.com from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of JD.com from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of JD.com in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Nomura lowered their target price on shares of JD.com from $36.00 to $33.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.60.

JD.com Company Profile

JD.com, Inc operates as a supply chain-based technology and service provider in the People's Republic of China. The company offers computers, communication, and consumer electronics products, as well as home appliances; and general merchandise products comprising food, beverage and fresh produce, baby and maternity products, furniture and household goods, cosmetics and other personal care items, pharmaceutical and healthcare products, industrial products, books, automobile accessories, apparel and footwear, bags, and jewelry.