Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR)

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 12,847 call options on the company. This is an increase of 240% compared to the average volume of 3,780 call options.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lynn Krominga sold 1,405 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $133,475.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,950 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $185,250. The trade was a 41.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 52.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Avis Budget Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,078 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,058,000 after buying an additional 2,276 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Avis Budget Group by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 185,801 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,274,000 after acquiring an additional 17,666 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in Avis Budget Group by 123.8% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 22,745 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,992,000 after purchasing an additional 12,580 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Avis Budget Group by 4.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,354,546 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $293,825,000 after purchasing an additional 129,805 shares during the period. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avis Budget Group in the third quarter worth about $341,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

Avis Budget Group Stock Performance

Avis Budget Group stock opened at $74.66 on Friday. Avis Budget Group has a fifty-two week low of $54.03 and a fifty-two week high of $132.25. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.70. The stock has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of -1.44 and a beta of 2.37.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.50) by $0.27. Avis Budget Group had a negative return on equity of 14.74% and a negative net margin of 15.45%. As a group, analysts predict that Avis Budget Group will post 8.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Avis Budget Group from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.71.

About Avis Budget Group

Avis Budget Group, Inc engages in the provision of vehicle sharing and rental services. It operates through the following segments: Americas, International, and Corporate and Other. The Americas segment includes the vehicle rental and car sharing operations in North America, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.