Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF Put Options (NYSEARCA:LQD)

iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:LQD) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 126,821 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 49% compared to the average volume of 85,240 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF by 430.0% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,932,215 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $433,291,000 after buying an additional 3,190,347 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas lifted its stake in shares of iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 2,362,313 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $260,303,000 after buying an additional 298,058 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust acquired a new stake in iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF during the second quarter worth approximately $96,795,000. Oarsman Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF during the second quarter worth approximately $95,734,000. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its position in iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF by 15.7% during the first quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 257,303 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $28,043,000 after acquiring an additional 34,847 shares during the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF Stock Performance

iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF stock traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $102.18. 45,999,242 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 33,148,605. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.55. iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF has a 1 year low of $102.04 and a 1 year high of $112.93. The company has a market capitalization of $27.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.25 and a beta of 0.44.

iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF Company Profile

iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade Index (the Index), which is a rules-based index consisting of liquid, the United States dollar-denominated, investment-grade corporate bonds for sale in the United States. The Index may include large-, mid- or small-capitalization companies, and components primarily include consumer services, financial, and oil and gas companies.