Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Coty (NYSE:COTY)

Coty (NYSE:COTY) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 2,116 call options on the company. Thisisanincreaseofapproximately27% compared to the typical volume of 1,667 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COTY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Coty in a report on Friday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $4.25 price target (down previously from $6.50) on shares of Coty in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of Coty from $5.00 to $4.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Coty from $5.00 to $4.25 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Coty from $6.00 to $4.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sue Nabi bought 260,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $3.92 per share, with a total value of $1,019,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 32,127,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $125,938,961.12. The trade was a 0.82% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Priya Srinivasan bought 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $3.84 per share, with a total value of $115,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 37,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $144,034.56. The trade was a 399.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Coty

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Coty by 140.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 3,214 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Coty by 137.1% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 6,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 3,962 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in shares of Coty by 1,006.7% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 7,304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 6,644 shares during the period. Shay Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coty in the second quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Coty in the second quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.36% of the company’s stock.

Coty Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:COTY traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $3.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,113,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,095,314. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of -8.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 2.00. Coty has a twelve month low of $3.67 and a twelve month high of $9.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $4.81 and a 200 day moving average of $5.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Coty (NYSE:COTY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 20th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Coty had a positive return on equity of 5.18% and a negative net margin of 6.24%.The firm’s revenue was down 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.03) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Coty will post 0.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Coty

Coty Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells beauty products worldwide. It operates through Prestige and Consumer Beauty segments. The company provides fragrance, color cosmetics, and skin and body care products. It offers Prestige segment products primarily through prestige retailers, including perfumeries, department stores, e-retailers, direct-to-consumer websites, and duty-free shops under the Burberry, Calvin Klein, Chloe, Davidoff, Escada, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Jil Sander, Joop!, Kylie Jenner, Lancaster, Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu, Orveda, philosophy, SKKN BY KIM, and Tiffany & Co brands.