Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM)

HealthStream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 5,401 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,352% compared to the typical daily volume of 372 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HealthStream news, Director Linda Rebrovick sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $50,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 54,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,354,525. The trade was a 3.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Kevin P. O’hara sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.08, for a total transaction of $72,240.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $505,246.56. The trade was a 12.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 20.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of HealthStream

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSTM. Danske Bank A S lifted its position in shares of HealthStream by 175.0% in the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 1,100 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Essential Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HealthStream during the first quarter worth $25,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of HealthStream by 2,035.5% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,324 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,262 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in HealthStream during the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in HealthStream by 241.4% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,407 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 1,702 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.58% of the company’s stock.

HealthStream Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of HSTM stock traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $27.28. 165,255 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 293,285. The stock has a market cap of $797.00 million, a PE ratio of 40.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.50. HealthStream has a 12 month low of $19.50 and a 12 month high of $29.63.

HealthStream (NASDAQ:HSTM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $81.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.68 million. HealthStream had a return on equity of 6.47% and a net margin of 6.39%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that HealthStream will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HealthStream declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Friday, March 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 1.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

HealthStream Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.035 dividend. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. HealthStream’s payout ratio is currently 20.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised HealthStream from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised HealthStream from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on HealthStream to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.00.

HealthStream Company Profile

HealthStream, Inc is a Nashville, Tennessee–based provider of workforce development and learning management solutions for healthcare organizations. Since its founding in 1990, the company has focused on helping hospitals, clinics and other care providers streamline staff training, ensure regulatory compliance and monitor employee performance. HealthStream’s platform integrates online courses, skill competency assessments and credential management tools to support workforce readiness across the healthcare continuum.

The company’s core offerings include a learning management system (LMS) designed specifically for clinical and nonclinical personnel, a competency management suite that tracks skill acquisition and validation, and a content library featuring evidence-based clinical and compliance training modules.