Shift4 Payments Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:FOUR)

Shift4 Payments, Inc. (NYSE:FOUR) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 6,182 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 60% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,860 call options.

Shift4 Payments Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:FOUR traded up $1.51 during trading on Thursday, hitting $50.71. 448,272 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,113,988. The business’s 50 day moving average is $42.77 and its 200-day moving average is $50.89. The company has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55. Shift4 Payments has a 1-year low of $34.56 and a 1-year high of $108.50.

Shift4 Payments (NYSE:FOUR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.02). Shift4 Payments had a net margin of 2.63% and a return on equity of 33.55%. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.07 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 49.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Shift4 Payments has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.500-5.700 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Shift4 Payments will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FOUR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on Shift4 Payments from $73.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Shift4 Payments from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Shift4 Payments from $50.00 to $46.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Shift4 Payments in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Shift4 Payments from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Shift4 Payments

In other Shift4 Payments news, major shareholder Jared Isaacman purchased 193,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $40.66 per share, for a total transaction of $7,847,380.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 1,787,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,677,920.30. This trade represents a 12.10% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shift4 Payments

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Shift4 Payments during the third quarter valued at about $77,303,000. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Shift4 Payments by 16.4% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 6,338,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $628,215,000 after buying an additional 890,990 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Shift4 Payments by 3,048.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 872,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,938,000 after buying an additional 844,746 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Shift4 Payments in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,635,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Shift4 Payments by 97.2% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,655,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,246,000 after buying an additional 816,155 shares during the period. 98.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Shift4 Payments

Shift4 Payments is a U.S.-based provider of integrated payment processing and technology solutions, serving merchants across the hospitality, retail, e-commerce, gaming and lodging industries. The company’s platform enables businesses to accept in-store, online and mobile payments through a combination of point-of-sale hardware, payment gateway services and back-office software. By centralizing transaction processing and reporting, Shift4 aims to simplify payments, enhance security and streamline operations for its merchant customers.

The company’s core offerings include encrypted point-of-sale terminals, cloud-based payment gateways, and developer-friendly APIs for online and mobile checkouts.