Investors Buy High Volume of iShares MSCI South Korea ETF Put Options (NYSEARCA:EWY)

iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (NYSEARCA:EWY) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 167,242 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 47% compared to the typical volume of 113,785 put options.

iShares MSCI South Korea ETF Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of EWY traded down $5.36 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $180.14. 30,761,584 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,693,939. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $188.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $145.16. The company has a market cap of $21.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35 and a beta of 1.46. iShares MSCI South Korea ETF has a 1-year low of $69.85 and a 1-year high of $220.89.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iShares MSCI South Korea ETF

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in iShares MSCI South Korea ETF in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI South Korea ETF by 20,000.0% during the first quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 201 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI South Korea ETF during the first quarter worth $25,000. Parallel Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of iShares MSCI South Korea ETF in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of iShares MSCI South Korea ETF by 66.2% in the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 251 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 49.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About iShares MSCI South Korea ETF

iShares MSCI South Korea Capped ETF (the Fund) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI Korea 25/50 Index (the Index). The Index consists of stocks traded primarily on the Stock Market Division of the Korean Exchange. The Index is a free-float adjusted market capitalization weighted index with a capping methodology applied to issuer weights so that no issuer of a component exceeds 25% of the Index weight and all issuers with weight above 5% do not exceed 50% of the Index weight.