Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Grab Put Options (NASDAQ:GRAB)

Grab Holdings Limited (NASDAQ:GRAB) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 47,187 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 26% compared to the average volume of 37,505 put options.

Insider Transactions at Grab

In related news, insider Chin Ong sold 38,000 shares of Grab stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.09, for a total transaction of $117,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,594,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,107,347.99. This trade represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Ping Tan bought 10,350,000 shares of Grab stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $2.89 per share, with a total value of $29,911,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 10,778,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,149,859.22. This trade represents a 2,415.41% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 819,349 shares of company stock valued at $2,865,355. 3.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grab

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GRAB. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in Grab by 6.4% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 156,175,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $588,783,000 after acquiring an additional 9,357,389 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Grab by 58.0% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 54,906,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,957,000 after purchasing an additional 20,152,535 shares during the period. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Grab by 74.5% in the first quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 32,601,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,321,000 after acquiring an additional 13,919,053 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its position in Grab by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 27,977,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340,082 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Grab by 13.4% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 24,289,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,572,000 after buying an additional 2,867,458 shares in the last quarter. 55.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Grab Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of Grab stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $3.02. 34,053,986 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 52,696,254. The company has a fifty day moving average of $3.29 and a 200-day moving average of $3.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Grab has a 52-week low of $2.74 and a 52-week high of $6.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.91.

Grab (NASDAQ:GRAB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $997.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $994.97 million. Grab had a return on equity of 8.83% and a net margin of 15.97%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Grab will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on GRAB. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Grab from $7.00 to $5.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Grab in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $6.25 price objective on shares of Grab in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. KeyCorp set a $7.00 price target on shares of Grab in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Grab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Grab currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $6.11.

About Grab

Grab Holdings Limited is a Singapore-based technology company that operates a superapp serving consumers, drivers, merchants and businesses across Southeast Asia. Its platform connects users with everyday services through a single digital application.

The company’s main businesses include mobility services such as ride-hailing and taxi bookings, food and grocery delivery, and digital payments. Grab also provides financial services, including digital wallets, lending, insurance and other financial products, subject to local regulations.