Sony (NYSE:SONY) Stock Sees Heavy Call Option Buying

Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders bought 12,354 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 141% compared to the typical volume of 5,135 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sony

In other news, insider Kenji Tanaka sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.83, for a total transaction of $476,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 43,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,046,113.17. This trade represents a 31.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in Sony by 6.9% during the third quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 162,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,813,000 after acquiring an additional 10,529 shares during the period. 71 West Capital Partners lifted its holdings in Sony by 4.5% in the third quarter. 71 West Capital Partners now owns 11,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $277,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Sony by 6.7% in the third quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 34,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $814,000 after acquiring an additional 2,185 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Sony by 11.7% in the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 26,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $623,000 after acquiring an additional 2,779 shares during the period. Finally, Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in Sony by 12.7% in the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 582,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,698,000 after acquiring an additional 65,546 shares during the period. 14.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Sony

Here are the key news stories impacting Sony this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sony reported quarterly EPS of $0.49 versus the $0.38 consensus and revenue of $21.77 billion versus estimates of $20.15 billion; revenue rose 10.3% year over year. Reports also put profit growth at roughly 45%–48%. The earnings beat and raised sales and operating-income forecasts support the outlook for continued growth. Zacks: SONY Q2 earnings and revenues rise
• Positive Sentiment: Pictures benefited from the latest Spider-Man movie, while gaming was another source of strength. The combination highlights the earnings potential of Sony’s entertainment franchises and content investments. Bloomberg: Sony lifts outlook after Spider-Man and PlayStation fuel growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports on next-generation PlayStation development are mixed: one says Sony is making solid progress, while another flags hardware challenges that could delay the PS6. Any timing impact remains uncertain and is a longer-term consideration rather than a confirmed change to the current earnings outlook. Push Square: PS6 development on track Analytics Insight: PlayStation 6 could take longer to arrive

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SONY shares. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sony in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Sony from $560.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on Sony from $660.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Sony from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Sony in a report on Thursday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $373.00.

Sony Stock Performance

Sony stock traded up $1.92 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $27.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,050,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,506,744. The firm has a market cap of $164.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.85, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $24.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Sony has a twelve month low of $19.32 and a twelve month high of $30.34.

Sony Company Profile

Sony Group Corporation is a Japan-based global entertainment and technology company whose businesses span games, music, motion pictures, electronics, imaging and financial services. The company develops and markets consumer and professional products, digital content, software and services through a portfolio of internationally recognized brands.

Sony’s Game & Network Services business operates the PlayStation platform, including hardware, software, online services and related content.