PepsiCo Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:PEP)

Posted by Brian Himes on Sep 23rd, 2026

PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP – Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 48,807 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 62% compared to the average daily volume of 30,131 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $134.00 target price on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of PepsiCo from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 10th. Piper Sandler set a $176.00 target price on PepsiCo in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.80.

Get Our Latest Research Report on PepsiCo

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP David Flavell sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.54, for a total transaction of $404,666.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 74,825 shares in the company, valued at $10,441,080.50. This trade represents a 3.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in PepsiCo by 2.1% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 118,281,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,015,363,000 after buying an additional 2,440,377 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of PepsiCo by 1.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,406,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,179,099,000 after buying an additional 987,582 shares during the period. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in shares of PepsiCo by 14,857.8% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 49,252,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,068,777,000 after acquiring an additional 48,923,629 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in PepsiCo by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 33,617,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,814,835,000 after buying an additional 360,936 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of PepsiCo by 0.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,283,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,305,146,000 after acquiring an additional 133,325 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.07% of the company’s stock.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP stock traded down $1.72 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $129.47. The stock had a trading volume of 4,663,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,928,592. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.91. PepsiCo has a 52 week low of $127.98 and a 52 week high of $171.48. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $138.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $145.75.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 9th. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $24.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.95 billion. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 54.63% and a net margin of 10.78%.The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. PepsiCo has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.550-8.710 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PepsiCo will post 8.57 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a $1.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.59%.

More PepsiCo News

Here are the key news stories impacting PepsiCo this week:

Positive Sentiment: PepsiCo’s zero-sugar beverage expansion is viewed as a potential growth driver, with innovation, pricing and broad distribution aimed at capturing changing consumer preferences. Can Zero Sugar Drinks Fuel PepsiCo’s Next Growth Phase?
Positive Sentiment: Analysts and income-focused investors continue to highlight PepsiCo’s depressed valuation, dividend yield and defensive consumer-staples business as reasons the stock could offer significant long-term upside. The company’s latest quarter also modestly exceeded earnings and revenue expectations, while full-year EPS guidance was maintained. Prediction: This Out-of-Favor Dividend Stock Could Have Significant Upside
Positive Sentiment: The company reaffirmed investment in Saudi Arabia, including localization, talent development and partnerships. While strategically supportive, the announcement is unlikely to materially change near-term earnings. PepsiCo reaffirms Saudi investment commitment
Neutral Sentiment: Consumer staples have outperformed discretionary stocks in 2026, providing a favorable sector backdrop, although PepsiCo’s own shares have not yet benefited to the same extent. Staples ETF Widens Gap Over Discretionary
Negative Sentiment: PepsiCo is ending manufacturing at a longtime D.C.-area facility, while reports also cite manufacturing layoffs. The moves may improve efficiency eventually but raise concerns about restructuring costs, operational disruption and softer demand. PepsiCo to End Manufacturing at Longtime D.C. Area Plant
Negative Sentiment: PepsiCo is reportedly discontinuing South Africa’s ProNutro brand after 64 years, reinforcing concerns about portfolio rationalization and regional execution. PepsiCo pulls the plug on ProNutro
Negative Sentiment: A proposed class-action lawsuit alleges misleading “avocado oil” labeling on Siete and Tostitos chips, creating potential legal costs and reputational risk. Avocado oil chips class-action lawsuit
Negative Sentiment: Technical analysis indicates PEP has broken below a key support level, with a potential downside target near $127.70, adding to short-term selling pressure. PEP technical price outlook

PepsiCo Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

PepsiCo, Inc (NASDAQ:PEP) is a global food and beverage company headquartered in Purchase, New York. Its portfolio includes carbonated soft drinks, sports drinks, bottled water, juices, ready-to-drink beverages, snack foods and convenient foods. Major brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Quaker and SodaStream.

The company sells products through a broad range of channels, including grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants, food-service providers, vending operations and e-commerce platforms.