Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Coupang (NYSE:CPNG)

Coupang, Inc. (NYSE:CPNG) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders bought 46,362 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 64% compared to the typical daily volume of 28,261 call options.

Coupang Stock Performance

CPNG stock traded down $0.34 during trading on Monday, reaching $15.78. 8,717,476 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,146,723. Coupang has a twelve month low of $14.92 and a twelve month high of $34.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $28.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.70 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.00.

Insider Activity

In other Coupang news, insider Harold Rogers sold 192,110 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.18, for a total transaction of $3,108,339.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 740,931 shares in the company, valued at $11,988,263.58. This trade represents a 20.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Jonathan D. Lee sold 5,519 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.10, for a total value of $88,855.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 181,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,928,831.50. This represents a 2.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 12.83% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Coupang

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CPNG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Coupang by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,547,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $697,029,000 after acquiring an additional 951,812 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. raised its position in Coupang by 383.2% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 126,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,976,000 after purchasing an additional 100,047 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Coupang by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,327,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $574,068,000 after purchasing an additional 1,689,293 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in Coupang by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 318,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,525,000 after purchasing an additional 59,013 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in Coupang by 10.2% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 702,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,211,000 after purchasing an additional 64,967 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. CLSA began coverage on Coupang in a report on Monday, June 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Mizuho set a $22.00 price target on Coupang in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup lowered shares of Coupang from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $23.00 to $22.20 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Coupang in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Coupang from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $21.50 in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Coupang currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.39.

Coupang Company Profile

Coupang, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CPNG, is a South Korean e-commerce company headquartered in Seoul. Founded in 2010 by Bom Kim, the company grew rapidly by combining an online marketplace with a large direct-retail business model. Coupang completed a primary listing in the United States in 2021, and it has become one of South Korea’s leading online retailers by focusing on convenience, speed and a wide product assortment across consumer categories.

The company operates a vertically integrated e-commerce platform that includes a customer-facing marketplace and an extensive logistics and fulfillment network.