Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Shake Shack (NYSE:SHAK)

Shake Shack, Inc. (NYSE:SHAK) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders bought 5,453 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 47% compared to the average volume of 3,713 call options.

Shake Shack Price Performance

SHAK opened at $68.52 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.90, a PEG ratio of 7.78 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $66.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.02. Shake Shack has a twelve month low of $51.60 and a twelve month high of $107.46.

Shake Shack (NYSE:SHAK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $417.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $417.18 million. Shake Shack had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 9.29%. Shake Shack’s revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Shake Shack will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shake Shack

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Shake Shack by 187.7% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 41,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,688,000 after buying an additional 27,194 shares in the last quarter. Fund 1 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Shake Shack in the second quarter valued at approximately $840,000. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in Shake Shack during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,644,000. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in Shake Shack by 16.5% during the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 407,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,032,000 after acquiring an additional 57,612 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Shake Shack by 9.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 899,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,536,000 after acquiring an additional 76,724 shares in the last quarter. 86.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Shake Shack in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $89.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $74.00 target price on Shake Shack in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Shake Shack from $79.00 to $68.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Shake Shack from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Shake Shack to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Shake Shack presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.22.

About Shake Shack

Shake Shack Inc operates a fast-casual restaurant brand known for made-to-order burgers, chicken sandwiches, hot dogs, crinkle-cut fries, frozen custard, milkshakes, and beverages including beer and wine at select locations. Its menu emphasizes premium ingredients and includes vegetarian and other non-meat options.

The company began as a seasonal hot dog cart in Madison Square Park in New York City in 2001 and opened its first permanent restaurant there in 2004. Shake Shack has since expanded through a combination of company-operated and licensed restaurants, with locations across the United States and in international markets, including parts of Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Shake Shack also offers digital ordering, delivery, catering and merchandise.