Paramount Global Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:PARA)

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 45,022 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 191% compared to the typical volume of 15,474 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PARA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Paramount Global from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Paramount Global from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Macquarie reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Monday, November 11th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Thursday. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.58.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Paramount Global by 162.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,573 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Paramount Global by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 31,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 5,442 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Paramount Global by 825.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 440,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,679,000 after purchasing an additional 393,027 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Paramount Global by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 25,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 5,586 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Paramount Global by 19.6% during the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 33,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 5,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.00% of the company’s stock.

Paramount Global Stock Performance

Paramount Global stock opened at $11.24 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.69. Paramount Global has a fifty-two week low of $9.54 and a fifty-two week high of $14.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $10.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.74.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $7.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. Paramount Global had a negative net margin of 18.89% and a positive return on equity of 5.81%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Paramount Global will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Paramount Global Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Paramount Global’s payout ratio is -2.43%.

Paramount Global Company Profile

Paramount Global operates as a media, streaming, and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through TV Media, Direct-to-Consumer, and Filmed Entertainment segments. The TV Media segment operates CBS Television Network, a domestic broadcast television network; CBS Stations, a television station; and international free-to-air networks comprising Network 10, Channel 5, Telefe, and Chilevisión; domestic premium and basic cable networks, such as Paramount+ with Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, The Smithsonian Channel, Nickelodeon, BET Media Group, and CBS Sports Network; and international extensions of these brands.