PDD Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:PDD)

PDD Holdings Inc. Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:PDD) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 136,576 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 124% compared to the typical volume of 60,994 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in PDD by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,810,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,720,397,000 after buying an additional 425,908 shares during the last quarter. H&H International Investment LLC grew its stake in shares of PDD by 71.2% during the first quarter. H&H International Investment LLC now owns 19,748,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,017,881,000 after acquiring an additional 8,211,600 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of PDD during the fourth quarter worth about $1,065,446,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of PDD by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,759,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $761,720,000 after acquiring an additional 359,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of PDD by 305.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,728,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $762,991,000 after acquiring an additional 5,070,827 shares in the last quarter. 39.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PDD Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PDD traded down $1.73 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $79.86. 5,433,847 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,501,325. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.67 billion, a PE ratio of 8.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of -0.01. PDD has a 12-month low of $78.87 and a 12-month high of $139.41. The business has a 50-day moving average of $94.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $102.87.

PDD (NASDAQ:PDD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.40 by ($1.02). PDD had a return on equity of 24.32% and a net margin of 21.86%.The firm had revenue of $15.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. PDD’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that PDD will post 9.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $129.00 price objective on shares of PDD in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Nomura downgraded PDD from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Benchmark reduced their price target on PDD from $160.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of PDD in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of PDD in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PDD currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $128.08.

About PDD

PDD (NASDAQ: PDD) is the holding company best known for operating Pinduoduo, a China-based, mobile-first e-commerce platform that emphasizes interactive, social shopping and group-buying mechanics to drive user engagement and low prices. Founded in 2015 by entrepreneur Colin Huang, the business has grown by connecting consumers directly with merchants and manufacturers, with particular emphasis on value-oriented goods and fresh agricultural produce. The company is based in Shanghai and completed a U.S.