Investors Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Wolfspeed (NYSE:WOLF)

Wolfspeed, Inc. (NYSE:WOLF) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 54,369 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 72% compared to the typical daily volume of 31,524 put options.

Wolfspeed Stock Down 51.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WOLF opened at $2.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.26, a current ratio of 3.15 and a quick ratio of 2.47. The stock has a market cap of $332.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.34 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $5.82 and a 200-day moving average of $8.12. Wolfspeed has a one year low of $2.54 and a one year high of $30.86.

Wolfspeed (NYSE:WOLF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported ($1.10) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.90) by ($0.20). Wolfspeed had a negative return on equity of 70.84% and a negative net margin of 125.96%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Wolfspeed will post -4 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WOLF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Wolfspeed from $18.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Wolfspeed from $9.50 to $6.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Wolfspeed from $18.00 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Wolfspeed to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on Wolfspeed from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.86.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wolfspeed

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WOLF. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wolfspeed by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,207,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,040,000 after acquiring an additional 335,966 shares during the last quarter. South Dakota Investment Council increased its stake in Wolfspeed by 26.4% in the fourth quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 717,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,778,000 after purchasing an additional 149,648 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its holdings in Wolfspeed by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 6,519,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,418,000 after purchasing an additional 169,984 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Wolfspeed during the third quarter worth $2,590,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Wolfspeed by 41.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 592,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,748,000 after buying an additional 173,409 shares during the period.

Wolfspeed Company Profile

Wolfspeed, Inc operates as a powerhouse semiconductor company focuses on silicon carbide and gallium nitride (GaN) technologies in Europe, Hong Kong, China, rest of Asia-Pacific, the United States, and internationally. It offers silicon carbide and GaN materials, including silicon carbide bare wafers, epitaxial wafers, and GaN epitaxial layers on silicon carbide wafers to manufacture products for RF, power, and other applications.