Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Unity Software (NYSE:U)

Unity Software Inc. (NYSE:U) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 127,190 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 33% compared to the typical daily volume of 95,952 call options.

Unity Software Price Performance

Unity Software stock traded up $4.78 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $40.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 24,735,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,983,966. Unity Software has a fifty-two week low of $15.33 and a fifty-two week high of $46.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.17 billion, a PE ratio of -38.26 and a beta of 2.37.

Unity Software (NYSE:U) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.26) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.25) by ($0.01). Unity Software had a negative net margin of 24.38% and a negative return on equity of 13.59%. The business had revenue of $440.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $425.18 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.32) EPS. Unity Software’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Unity Software will post -1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

U has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Unity Software from $30.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Unity Software from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. HSBC lowered shares of Unity Software from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $37.50 to $40.80 in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Unity Software from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Unity Software in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.10.

Insider Transactions at Unity Software

In related news, SVP Anirma Gupta sold 2,734 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.85, for a total value of $103,481.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 175,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,643,053.50. This trade represents a 1.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Helgason sold 1,350,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.43, for a total transaction of $59,980,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,139,173 shares in the company, valued at approximately $272,763,456.39. This trade represents a 18.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 2,386,951 shares of company stock valued at $101,340,159 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in Unity Software by 30,300.0% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,212 shares during the period. CX Institutional purchased a new stake in Unity Software in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Unity Software in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in Unity Software in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in Unity Software in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.46% of the company’s stock.

About Unity Software

Unity Software Inc operates a real-time 3D development platform. Its platform provides software solutions to create, run, and monetize interactive, real-time 2D and 3D content for mobile phones, tablets, PCs, consoles, and augmented and virtual reality devices. The company offers its solutions directly through its online store and field sales operations in North America, Denmark, Finland, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, China, Singapore, and South Korea, as well as indirectly through independent distributors and resellers worldwide.