Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Butterfly Network (NYSE:BFLY)

Butterfly Network, Inc. (NYSE:BFLY) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors acquired 17,637 call options on the company. This is an increase of 271% compared to the average daily volume of 4,749 call options.

Butterfly Network Stock Performance

Shares of BFLY stock opened at $7.24 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $7.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $6.08. Butterfly Network has a 52-week low of $1.60 and a 52-week high of $10.05. The stock has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a PE ratio of -24.97 and a beta of 2.08.

Butterfly Network (NYSE:BFLY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.03. Butterfly Network had a negative net margin of 66.74% and a negative return on equity of 33.99%. The company had revenue of $32.61 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $29.16 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Butterfly Network will post -0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Butterfly Network

In related news, insider Steve Cashman sold 140,112 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.30, for a total value of $1,022,817.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,490,295 shares in the company, valued at $10,879,153.50. The trade was a 8.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Jonathan M. Rothberg sold 1,195,857 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.60, for a total value of $7,892,656.20. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 54,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $357,343.80. This represents a 95.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 4,743,569 shares of company stock valued at $32,219,597 in the last three months. 21.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Butterfly Network

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Butterfly Network by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 55,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 2,125 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new position in Butterfly Network during the second quarter valued at approximately $595,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in Butterfly Network by 27.0% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 450,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,792,000 after purchasing an additional 95,850 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new stake in Butterfly Network in the second quarter valued at approximately $156,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Butterfly Network by 11.5% in the second quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 20,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 37.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BFLY. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Butterfly Network in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on shares of Butterfly Network in a report on Friday, September 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.56.

About Butterfly Network

Butterfly Network, Inc develops portable, semiconductor-based ultrasound systems designed to make diagnostic imaging more accessible across hospitals, clinics, physician offices, emergency services and other care settings. Its technology uses a single handheld probe with software-enabled imaging capabilities, rather than requiring multiple dedicated ultrasound machines.

The company’s product portfolio includes the Butterfly iQ, iQ+, and iQ3 handheld ultrasound devices, along with related software and cloud-based tools.