Investors Buy High Volume of Universal Display Call Options (NASDAQ:OLED)

Universal Display Corporation (NASDAQ:OLED) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock traders purchased 4,769 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 407% compared to the typical volume of 940 call options.

Universal Display Price Performance

Universal Display stock traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $77.95. 995,623 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 711,647. Universal Display has a 12-month low of $70.77 and a 12-month high of $153.38. The company has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.17.

Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The semiconductor company reported $1.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $152.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $157.54 million. Universal Display had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 32.24%. The business’s revenue was down 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Universal Display will post 4.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Display Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 16th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Universal Display’s payout ratio is presently 48.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Universal Display

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. XXEC Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Universal Display during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,508,286,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Universal Display during the second quarter worth approximately $373,931,000. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new stake in Universal Display in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $190,136,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Universal Display in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,796,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Universal Display in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,721,000. 78.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on OLED shares. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Universal Display from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 target price (down from $130.00) on shares of Universal Display in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research raised shares of Universal Display from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Universal Display from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Universal Display from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.00.

Universal Display Company Profile

Universal Display Corporation develops and commercializes technologies and materials used in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays and lighting. The company’s portfolio includes phosphorescent OLED (PHOLED) technologies, which are designed to improve display efficiency, as well as OLED material systems and related technologies.

Universal Display generates revenue primarily through licensing its OLED intellectual property and selling OLED materials, including phosphorescent emitter materials and related products.