Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Sunrun (NASDAQ:RUN)

Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ:RUN) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders purchased 62,988 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 62% compared to the average volume of 38,869 call options.

Sunrun Stock Up 10.8%

Shares of Sunrun stock traded up $1.98 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $20.24. 9,160,994 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,379,215. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.67, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.46. Sunrun has a 52 week low of $5.38 and a 52 week high of $22.44. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.01. The company has a market cap of $4.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.81 and a beta of 2.35.

Sunrun (NASDAQ:RUN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The energy company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $724.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $601.15 million. Sunrun had a negative net margin of 106.50% and a positive return on equity of 19.34%. Sunrun’s quarterly revenue was up 34.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.37) EPS. Equities analysts expect that Sunrun will post -0.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Edward Harris Fenster sold 133,256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.11, for a total transaction of $2,413,266.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,474,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,710,909.86. This trade represents a 8.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CRO Paul S. Dickson sold 25,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $512,280.00. Following the sale, the executive directly owned 655,734 shares in the company, valued at $13,114,680. This trade represents a 3.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 412,749 shares of company stock valued at $7,923,416 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sunrun

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Sunrun in the 1st quarter worth $5,259,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Sunrun by 33.6% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 573,107 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $3,358,000 after buying an additional 144,113 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Sunrun by 14.9% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 182,961 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,072,000 after buying an additional 23,772 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Sunrun by 17.5% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,764,452 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $16,200,000 after buying an additional 410,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. grew its position in shares of Sunrun by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 63,822 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $371,000 after buying an additional 7,359 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Sunrun from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $11.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets set a $19.00 price target on shares of Sunrun and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Sunrun from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $11.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Sunrun from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Sunrun from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sunrun has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.58.

About Sunrun

Sunrun, Inc (NASDAQ: RUN) is a leading provider of residential solar energy systems in the United States. The company designs, installs and maintains rooftop solar panels and battery storage solutions for homeowners under flexible financing arrangements. Customers can choose from leasing, power purchase agreements or solar ownership models, all of which are supported by Sunrun’s network of installation partners and service technicians. Sunrun also offers integrated home energy management services, including its Brightbox battery storage product, which enables customers to store solar energy for use during peak hours or power outages.

Founded in 2007 by Lynn Jurich, Ed Fenster and Nat Kreamer, Sunrun is headquartered in San Francisco, California.