Catalent Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CTLT)

Catalent, Inc. (NYSE:CTLT) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 5,002 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 358% compared to the average daily volume of 1,093 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Matti Masanovich sold 2,993 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.74, for a total value of $169,822.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 33,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,921,840.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Scott Gunther sold 666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.55, for a total transaction of $39,660.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,635 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,360,264.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Matti Masanovich sold 2,993 shares of Catalent stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.74, for a total value of $169,822.82. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 33,871 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,921,840.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 13,409 shares of company stock worth $782,923. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Catalent by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,405,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,151,872,000 after acquiring an additional 218,682 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Catalent by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 19,079,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $857,264,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098,474 shares during the last quarter. Cadian Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Catalent by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Cadian Capital Management LP now owns 6,064,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,473,000 after purchasing an additional 759,600 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Catalent by 129.2% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,079,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,416,000 after buying an additional 2,299,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its stake in Catalent by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 2,994,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,541,000 after buying an additional 34,856 shares during the last quarter.

Catalent Stock Performance

NYSE:CTLT traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $60.10. The stock had a trading volume of 310,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,103,236. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.86, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.15. Catalent has a 1-year low of $31.80 and a 1-year high of $61.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.27.

Catalent (NYSE:CTLT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.13. Catalent had a negative return on equity of 0.56% and a negative net margin of 22.72%. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Catalent will post 0.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CTLT has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Catalent from $47.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $63.50 price objective on shares of Catalent in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Catalent in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. StockNews.com started coverage on Catalent in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $63.50 price objective on shares of Catalent in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $59.83.

Catalent Company Profile

Catalent, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops and manufactures solutions for drugs, protein-based biologics, cell and gene therapies, and consumer health products worldwide. It operates in two segments, Biologics, and Pharma and Consumer Health. The Biologics segment provides formulation, development, and manufacturing for biologic proteins, cell gene, and other nucleic acid therapies; pDNA, iPSCs, oncolytic viruses, and vaccines; formulation, development, and manufacturing for parenteral dose forms, including vials, prefilled syringes, and cartridges; and analytical development and testing services for large molecules.