Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Olaplex (NASDAQ:OLPX)

Olaplex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:OLPX) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders bought 11,414 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,927% compared to the typical volume of 563 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on OLPX. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Olaplex in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $1.40 target price on Olaplex in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Olaplex from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered Olaplex from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on Olaplex from $2.00 to $2.06 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1.89.

Olaplex Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Olaplex stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $2.02. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,622,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,632,558. The business has a fifty day moving average of $1.51 and a 200 day moving average of $1.36. Olaplex has a 1-year low of $0.99 and a 1-year high of $2.02. The company has a quick ratio of 4.00, a current ratio of 4.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a PE ratio of -202.00 and a beta of 2.24.

Olaplex (NASDAQ:OLPX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.01. Olaplex had a negative net margin of 2.19% and a positive return on equity of 1.07%. The business had revenue of $105.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $104.21 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.01 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Olaplex will post 0.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Trisha L. Fox sold 26,426 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.26, for a total value of $33,296.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 721,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $908,672.94. The trade was a 3.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Catherine Dunleavy sold 93,809 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.26, for a total transaction of $118,199.34. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 3,026,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,813,875.10. This trade represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 215,442 shares of company stock valued at $271,457 in the last 90 days. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Olaplex

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of OLPX. Archon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Olaplex by 40.4% in the 4th quarter. Archon Capital Management LLC now owns 4,466,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,986,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284,557 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Olaplex by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,865,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,180,000 after purchasing an additional 106,048 shares during the period. Portolan Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Olaplex by 132.6% during the 3rd quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC now owns 3,635,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,762,000 after purchasing an additional 2,072,383 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in Olaplex by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 3,525,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,724,000 after buying an additional 139,109 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in Olaplex by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,059,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,100,000 after buying an additional 103,875 shares during the period. 87.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Olaplex News

Here are the key news stories impacting Olaplex this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Henkel agreed to acquire Olaplex for $2.06 per share (≈$1.4 billion), a ~55% premium to the pre-announcement close; the deal is being pitched as enabling greater investment and distribution for the brand. OLAPLEX to be Acquired by Henkel for $1.4 Billion
• Positive Sentiment: Heavy bullish activity and strong market reaction: premarket headlines and commentary noted a large surge after the announcement, and unusual options activity (large buy of calls) signaled speculative and takeover-arbitrage positioning. Wall Street Breakfast Podcast: Henkel Adds Shine With Olaplex
• Neutral Sentiment: Small analyst adjustments: Telsey Advisory Group raised its price target marginally to $2.06 and kept a “market perform” rating — a modest validation of the deal price but not a strong new bullish signal. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple shareholder-law firms have launched investigations into whether Olaplex shareholders received a fair price or whether there were breaches of fiduciary duty in connection with the sale — this raises litigation risk and could complicate closing/timing. M&A Class Action Firm Announces Investigation Ademi Firm Investigates Fair Price
• Negative Sentiment: Critical analysis and a downgrade: commentary pieces flagged negative implications of the sale for certain stakeholders, and Northland downgraded the stock from “strong-buy” to “hold” — both could reduce enthusiasm among some investors. Henkel Buys Olaplex – Implications Are Negative Zacks (Northland downgrade)

About Olaplex

Olaplex, Inc (NASDAQ: OLPX) is a specialty haircare company known for its patented bond-building technology designed to repair and strengthen hair from within. The company’s core offerings encompass a range of professional salon treatments and at-home maintenance products that target chemical damage, breakage and split ends. Olaplex formulations are built around a proprietary active ingredient that works at the molecular level to rebuild disulfide bonds broken during bleaching, coloring and heat styling processes.

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Irvine, California, Olaplex initially gained traction among high-end salons before expanding into broader retail channels.