Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:LQD)

iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:LQD) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders purchased 144,767 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 101% compared to the typical daily volume of 71,928 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LQD. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Jessup Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA grew its stake in iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF by 175.4% in the fourth quarter. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA now owns 336 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Park National Corp OH bought a new position in iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF in the first quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Union Savings Bank bought a new position in iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF in the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF Stock Performance

NYSEARCA:LQD traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $104.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 19,756,217 shares, compared to its average volume of 32,861,910. The company has a market capitalization of $32.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.25 and a beta of 0.44. iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF has a 12 month low of $104.32 and a 12 month high of $112.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $106.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.23.

iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF Company Profile

iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade Index (the Index), which is a rules-based index consisting of liquid, the United States dollar-denominated, investment-grade corporate bonds for sale in the United States. The Index may include large-, mid- or small-capitalization companies, and components primarily include consumer services, financial, and oil and gas companies.