Bakkt Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:BKKT)

Bakkt Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BKKT) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders bought 6,531 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 287% compared to the average volume of 1,686 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BKKT shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Bakkt from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Benchmark dropped their target price on shares of Bakkt from $40.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Bakkt from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bakkt

In other Bakkt news, General Counsel Marc D’annunzio sold 7,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.86, for a total transaction of $68,930.80. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 110,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $975,122.74. This trade represents a 6.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Karen Alexander sold 4,684 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.13, for a total transaction of $42,764.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 55,771 shares in the company, valued at $509,189.23. This represents a 7.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,249 shares of company stock valued at $119,616. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Bakkt by 110.7% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 982 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bakkt in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Bakkt by 39.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,187 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Bakkt in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Bakkt by 268.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.11% of the company’s stock.

Bakkt Stock Performance

Shares of BKKT traded up $1.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $9.79. 4,481,276 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,488,105. The company has a market cap of $299.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.61 and a beta of 5.85. Bakkt has a fifty-two week low of $6.87 and a fifty-two week high of $49.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $8.63 and its 200-day moving average is $12.40.

Bakkt (NYSE:BKKT) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 11th. The company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.31). Bakkt had a negative return on equity of 64.73% and a negative net margin of 8.37%.The firm had revenue of $243.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $297.94 million.

About Bakkt

Bakkt Holdings, Inc is a digital asset platform that aims to bridge traditional finance and digital assets by offering institutional-grade custody, trading and settlement services. Established in 2018 by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the company initially made headlines with the launch of its physically settled Bitcoin futures contracts in 2019. Since then, Bakkt has expanded its product lineup to include spot trading of cryptocurrencies, a secure digital wallet for retail customers and a payment gateway that enables merchants to accept digital assets alongside fiat currencies.

The company’s core offering centers on its custody infrastructure, which is built to meet robust regulatory and security standards.