Investors Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX)

iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 8,459 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 86% compared to the typical daily volume of 4,553 put options.

iShares Semiconductor ETF Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SOXX opened at $205.25 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $221.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.00. The company has a market cap of $12.70 billion, a PE ratio of 10.60 and a beta of 1.34. iShares Semiconductor ETF has a 12 month low of $192.87 and a 12 month high of $267.24.

iShares Semiconductor ETF Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.3578 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in iShares Semiconductor ETF in the fourth quarter valued at $289,403,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in iShares Semiconductor ETF by 47.3% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,960,000 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $682,546,000 after buying an additional 950,000 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of iShares Semiconductor ETF during the 4th quarter valued at about $95,496,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of iShares Semiconductor ETF during the 4th quarter valued at about $69,622,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of iShares Semiconductor ETF by 22,093.6% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 254,782 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $54,903,000 after acquiring an additional 253,634 shares during the period.

About iShares Semiconductor ETF

iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF, formerly iShares PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index Fund (the Fund), is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the United States-listed semiconductor stocks as represented by the PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index (the Index).