Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Sony (NYSE:SONY)

Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONYGet Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 21,499 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 145% compared to the typical daily volume of 8,782 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SONY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sony from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sony in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Sony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Sony in a report on Monday, August 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.00.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on SONY

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ravi Ahuja sold 36,826 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.08, for a total transaction of $776,292.08. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 58,786 shares in the company, valued at $1,239,208.88. This trade represents a 38.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert Adrian Stringer sold 545,547 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.49, for a total transaction of $12,269,352.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 100,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,261,302.03. The trade was a 84.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 952,565 shares of company stock valued at $20,915,191. 7.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SONY. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sony in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Sony by 404.1% in the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 889 shares during the period. Twin Tree Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Sony by 4,218.5% in the fourth quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 1,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 1,139 shares in the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sony during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Binnacle Investments Inc raised its holdings in shares of Sony by 81.7% in the 3rd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 1,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.05% of the company’s stock.

Sony Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SONY traded down $0.20 during trading on Thursday, reaching $23.91. 2,184,359 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,966,731. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Sony has a 52 week low of $19.32 and a 52 week high of $30.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.29 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.92. The company’s 50 day moving average is $21.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.61.

Sony (NYSE:SONYGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, August 1st. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $17.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.17 billion. Sony had a negative net margin of 2.00% and a positive return on equity of 13.06%. The company’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $42.84 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sony will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

More Sony News

Here are the key news stories impacting Sony this week:

About Sony

(Get Free Report)

Sony Group Corporation (NYSE: SONY) is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Founded in 1946 by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita, Sony has grown from an electronics maker into a diversified global company with operations spanning consumer electronics, entertainment, gaming, semiconductors and financial services. The company’s shares trade in Japan and its American Depositary Receipts trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SONY.

Sony’s primary businesses include Electronics Products & Solutions, which covers televisions, audio equipment, digital cameras and professional broadcast systems; Game & Network Services, anchored by the PlayStation platform, consoles, software and online services; Music and Pictures, through Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment, producing, distributing and licensing recorded music, film and television content; Imaging & Sensing Solutions, which develops CMOS image sensors and other semiconductor components; and Financial Services, offering life insurance, banking and other financial products in Japan.

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