Investors Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Coupang (NYSE:CPNG)

Coupang, Inc. (NYSE:CPNG) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 57,353 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 95% compared to the average volume of 29,393 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coupang

In related news, insider Harold Rogers sold 192,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.18, for a total transaction of $3,108,339.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 740,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,988,263.58. This represents a 20.59% 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. Also, CAO Jonathan D. Lee sold 5,519 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.10, for a total transaction of $88,855.90. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 181,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,928,831.50. The trade was a 2.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 12.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Coupang by 0.5% during the third quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 78,679 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,533,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Coupang by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Coupang by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 9,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Coupang by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 22,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Coupang by 38.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.72% of the company’s stock.

Coupang Price Performance

CPNG stock traded down $0.08 during trading on Thursday, hitting $14.68. 20,751,960 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,801,203. Coupang has a 52 week low of $14.45 and a 52 week high of $34.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.67.

Coupang (NYSE:CPNG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.27) by $0.18. Coupang had a negative net margin of 2.16% and a negative return on equity of 8.77%. The business had revenue of $8.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.92 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.02 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Coupang will post -0.46 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CPNG has been the subject of several research reports. CLSA initiated coverage on shares of Coupang in a report on Monday, June 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Coupang in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Coupang from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $21.50 in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Bank of America cut their price target on Coupang from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Mizuho set a $22.00 price objective on Coupang in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.39.

About Coupang

Coupang, Inc (NYSE: CPNG) is an e-commerce and technology company founded in South Korea in 2010. The company operates an online marketplace offering consumer goods across categories such as electronics, household products, apparel, beauty products and groceries.

Its services include Rocket Delivery, a logistics and fulfillment network designed to provide fast delivery; Rocket Fresh, its grocery delivery service; and Coupang Eats, a food-ordering and delivery platform. Coupang also operates Coupang Play, a subscription-based streaming service, and Coupang Pay, a digital payments service.

Coupang serves customers primarily in South Korea and Taiwan.