Amer Sports Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:AS)

Amer Sports, Inc. (NYSE:AS) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 22,334 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 254% compared to the average daily volume of 6,315 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amer Sports

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its position in shares of Amer Sports by 63.5% in the third quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 6,343,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,436,000 after purchasing an additional 2,462,832 shares in the last quarter. Aspex Management HK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Amer Sports during the third quarter worth $206,244,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Amer Sports by 57.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,991,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457,951 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in Amer Sports by 139.9% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 3,887,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,679,000 after purchasing an additional 2,267,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Amer Sports by 32.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 3,747,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,264,000 after purchasing an additional 918,361 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.25% of the company’s stock.

Amer Sports Price Performance

Amer Sports stock traded down $0.86 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $37.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,464,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,428,708. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $37.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.86. Amer Sports has a twelve month low of $20.21 and a twelve month high of $42.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Amer Sports (NYSE:AS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 18th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.08. Amer Sports had a net margin of 5.10% and a return on equity of 8.51%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.7% on a year-over-year basis. Amer Sports has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.880-0.920 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Amer Sports will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $49.00 target price on shares of Amer Sports in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research cut shares of Amer Sports from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Amer Sports from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Amer Sports from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Amer Sports from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amer Sports currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $46.06.

About Amer Sports

Amer Sports (NYSE:AS) is a Helsinki-based sporting goods group that designs, develops and markets performance-oriented equipment, apparel and footwear across multiple sports. The company focuses on product innovation, brand-driven marketing and global distribution to serve athletes and outdoor enthusiasts, offering goods for activities such as skiing, running, hiking, tennis, golf and diving.

Amer Sports’ portfolio comprises well-known sports and outdoor brands, including Salomon (outdoor footwear and winter sports), Atomic (alpine skis and ski equipment), Arc’teryx (technical outerwear and climbing gear), Wilson (racquet and ball sports equipment) and Suunto (precision instruments and sports watches).