CLEAR Secure (NYSE:YOU) Stock Sees Heavy Call Option Buying

CLEAR Secure, Inc. (NYSE:YOU) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 3,048 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 247% compared to the average daily volume of 879 call options.

CLEAR Secure Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:YOU traded down $0.56 on Friday, reaching $41.18. 69,495 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,671,434. The company has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.95 and a beta of 1.01. CLEAR Secure has a 12 month low of $29.43 and a 12 month high of $69.07. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.05.

CLEAR Secure (NYSE:YOU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.09. CLEAR Secure had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 71.51%. The firm had revenue of $277.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $269.71 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that CLEAR Secure will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CLEAR Secure Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. CLEAR Secure’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

YOU has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research lowered CLEAR Secure from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of CLEAR Secure from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of CLEAR Secure from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of CLEAR Secure in a report on Monday, August 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on CLEAR Secure from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CLEAR Secure currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CLEAR Secure news, EVP Kyle McLaughlin sold 4,499 shares of CLEAR Secure stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.47, for a total transaction of $200,070.53. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 29,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,312,709.93. The trade was a 13.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CAO Dennis Liu sold 2,104 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.47, for a total value of $93,564.88. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 15,870 shares in the company, valued at $705,738.90. This trade represents a 11.71% decrease in their position. 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 18,047 shares of company stock worth $808,615 over the last three months. Company insiders own 29.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of YOU. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in CLEAR Secure by 109.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 30,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,684,000 after buying an additional 15,792 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CLEAR Secure during the 2nd quarter valued at about $176,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CLEAR Secure by 30.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 21,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,210,000 after acquiring an additional 5,006 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of CLEAR Secure by 162.0% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of CLEAR Secure by 5.1% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 334,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,634,000 after acquiring an additional 16,249 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.80% of the company’s stock.

About CLEAR Secure

CLEAR Secure, Inc (NYSE: YOU) operates a secure identity platform designed to help people verify who they are and move through airports, venues and other locations more efficiently. Its technology uses biometric authentication, including facial and fingerprint recognition, alongside identity verification to provide secure, convenient access.

The company’s primary consumer offering is CLEAR+, a membership service that allows enrolled members to use dedicated lanes at participating airports for identity verification before proceeding to security screening.