Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on American Superconductor (NASDAQ:AMSC)

American Superconductor Co. (NASDAQ:AMSC) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors acquired 4,049 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 153% compared to the typical volume of 1,602 put options.

American Superconductor Stock Down 14.9%

Shares of AMSC traded down $5.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $29.33. The company had a trading volume of 3,492,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,128,419. The stock has a market cap of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 416.89 and a beta of 2.87. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $22.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.76. American Superconductor has a 52 week low of $13.98 and a 52 week high of $38.02.

American Superconductor (NASDAQ:AMSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The technology company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.02. American Superconductor had a return on equity of 8.95% and a net margin of 1.64%. The business had revenue of $66.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $60.27 million. American Superconductor’s revenue for the quarter was up 58.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that American Superconductor will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Daniel P. Mcgahn sold 122,655 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.39, for a total value of $3,236,865.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,304,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,425,385.54. This represents a 8.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John W. Kosiba, Jr. sold 4,744 shares of American Superconductor stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.83, for a total value of $151,001.52. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 409,532 shares in the company, valued at $13,035,403.56. This represents a 1.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 185,088 shares of company stock worth $4,952,531 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Superconductor

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atreides Management LP bought a new stake in American Superconductor during the first quarter worth approximately $14,948,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Superconductor in the 1st quarter worth $14,123,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of American Superconductor in the 4th quarter worth $11,360,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in American Superconductor during the fourth quarter worth about $10,188,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in American Superconductor in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,310,000. 52.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About American Superconductor

American Superconductor Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides megawatt-scale power resiliency solutions worldwide. The company operates through Grid and Wind segments. The Grid segment offers products and services that enable electric utilities, industrial facilities, and renewable energy project developers to connect, transmit, and distribute power under the Gridtec Solutions brand.