Groupon Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:GRPN)

Groupon, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders purchased 12,287 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 291% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,145 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Groupon

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GRPN. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Groupon in the first quarter worth $224,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Groupon by 31.1% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 44,606 shares of the coupon company’s stock worth $837,000 after purchasing an additional 10,588 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Groupon by 1,098.1% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 26,658 shares of the coupon company’s stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 24,433 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Groupon by 9.6% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 36,632 shares of the coupon company’s stock worth $1,225,000 after purchasing an additional 3,219 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Groupon by 47.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 47,073 shares of the coupon company’s stock worth $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 15,177 shares during the period. 90.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Groupon News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Groupon this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unusual bullish options flow — traders bought ~12,287 call contracts on Friday (≈+291% vs. average), signaling short‑term bullish bets that can amplify upside moves or indicate takeover/strategic speculation.
• Positive Sentiment: International revenue strength — Groupon reported International Local revenue up ~10% (19% excluding Giftcloud), suggesting pockets of growth outside North America that could support future topline improvement. Groupon Reports First Quarter 2026 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Guidance updated — FY revenue range set at $513M–$523M and Q2 revenue guided to $126M–$128M, broadly near Street estimates but slightly below consensus on the Q2 midpoint; guidance reduces visibility but is not a large beat or miss.
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 earnings and billings miss — Reported EPS of -$0.32 missed estimates (around -$0.02 to -$0.03) and revenue was essentially flat at $117.2M, missing expectations. The headline miss is the primary near‑term negative catalyst. Groupon Q1 Earnings Lag Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Weak profitability and balance‑sheet trends — Q1 showed an operating loss, a larger net loss versus year‑ago, cash from operations negative (~$10M), and total liabilities up ~17%, highlighting leverage and near‑term profitability pressure. Quiver: Stock Falls on Q1 Earnings

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Groupon from $17.00 to $10.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.67.

Groupon Price Performance

GRPN stock traded up $3.00 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $18.46. The stock had a trading volume of 3,090,617 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,515,183. The firm has a market cap of $716.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.70 and a beta of 0.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $12.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.22. Groupon has a 52-week low of $9.17 and a 52-week high of $43.08.

Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The coupon company reported ($0.32) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $117.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.65 million. Groupon had a negative return on equity of 717.37% and a negative net margin of 16.76%. Research analysts predict that Groupon will post 0.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Groupon Company Profile

Groupon, Inc operates an online marketplace that connects subscribers with local merchants offering discounted goods, services and experiences. Through its website and mobile applications, Groupon provides time-limited deals across categories such as restaurants, travel, beauty and wellness, home services, and consumer products. Merchants partner with Groupon to attract new customers and drive foot traffic, leveraging the platform’s targeted marketing tools and large subscriber base to promote special offers and vouchers.

Founded in Chicago in 2008 by Andrew Mason, Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell, Groupon pioneered the daily-deals model, quickly growing its user community and merchant network.