Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on International Paper (NYSE:IP)

International Paper (NYSE:IP) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 22,378 call options on the company. This is an increase of 369% compared to the average daily volume of 4,770 call options.

International Paper Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE IP traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $35.33. 1,819,604 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,606,771. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.67. The business’s 50-day moving average is $36.72 and its 200-day moving average is $35.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.76 and a beta of 0.99. International Paper has a twelve month low of $29.00 and a twelve month high of $41.28.

International Paper (NYSE:IP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $4.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.67 billion. International Paper had a return on equity of 8.87% and a net margin of 1.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that International Paper will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other International Paper news, SVP James P. Jr. Royalty sold 5,800 shares of International Paper stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.75, for a total transaction of $201,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 69,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,414,708. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 8,800 shares of company stock valued at $310,438 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its position in International Paper by 6.6% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 51,817 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,391,000 after buying an additional 3,209 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in International Paper by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 8,660 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $399,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in International Paper by 45.5% during the first quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 675 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. acquired a new position in shares of International Paper in the first quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in shares of International Paper by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 41,970 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,947,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares during the period. 81.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on IP shares. StockNews.com cut shares of International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of International Paper from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Bank of America raised shares of International Paper from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $37.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Argus cut International Paper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of International Paper in a report on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.13.

International Paper Company Profile

International Paper Company produces and sells renewable fiber-based packaging and pulp products in North America, Latin America, Europe, and North Africa. It operates through two segments, Industrial Packaging and Global Cellulose Fibers. The company offers linerboard, medium, whitetop, recycled linerboard, recycled medium and saturating kraft; and pulp for a range of applications, such as diapers, towel and tissue products, feminine care, incontinence, and other personal care products, as well as specialty pulps for use in textiles, construction materials, paints, coatings, and others.