Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Lemonade (NYSE:LMND)

Lemonade, Inc. (NYSE:LMND) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 13,999 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 20% compared to the typical daily volume of 11,674 put options.

Lemonade Price Performance

LMND opened at $39.40 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.30. The firm has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.96 and a beta of 2.09. Lemonade has a 1 year low of $14.03 and a 1 year high of $53.85.

Lemonade (NYSE:LMND) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported ($0.95) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.02) by $0.07. Lemonade had a negative net margin of 43.51% and a negative return on equity of 32.85%. The firm had revenue of $136.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $129.10 million. The business’s revenue was up 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.88) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lemonade will post -3.04 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lemonade news, major shareholder Softbank Group Capital Ltd sold 719,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.29, for a total value of $31,880,606.35. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,263,569 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $498,863,471.01. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Sheldon Peters sold 1,790 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.50, for a total value of $81,445.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 88,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,026,431.50. The trade was a 1.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 871,514 shares of company stock valued at $37,993,527. Company insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lemonade

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Lemonade by 220.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,879 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Lemonade by 321.3% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 4,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 3,403 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lemonade by 1,647.6% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 9,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 8,584 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lemonade in the second quarter worth $180,000. Finally, Bristlecone Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lemonade in the third quarter valued at $218,000. 80.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LMND shares. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Lemonade from $40.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised Lemonade from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $23.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Lemonade from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Lemonade from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Lemonade from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.43.

About Lemonade

Lemonade, Inc provides various insurance products through various channels in the United States, Europe, and the United Kingdom. Its insurance products include stolen or damaged property, and personal liability that protects its customers if they are responsible for an accident or damage to another person or their property.