Grab Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:GRAB)

Grab Holdings Limited (NASDAQ:GRAB) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 39,023 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 38% compared to the average daily volume of 28,379 call options.

Grab Stock Down 5.1%

Grab stock traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $3.08. 49,065,871 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 48,528,195. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.52. Grab has a 12 month low of $3.07 and a 12 month high of $6.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $3.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.68. The company has a market cap of $12.64 billion, a PE ratio of 51.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.89.

Grab (NASDAQ:GRAB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.01. Grab had a net margin of 15.97% and a return on equity of 8.83%. The business had revenue of $997.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $994.97 million. As a group, analysts expect that Grab will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on GRAB shares. Barclays decreased their target price on Grab from $7.00 to $5.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Grab from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Grab from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $6.25 price objective on shares of Grab in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Grab in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Grab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6.01.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Philipp Wolfgang Josef Kandal sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.64, for a total value of $109,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,988,735 shares in the company, valued at $14,518,995.40. The trade was a 0.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Chin Ong sold 38,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.43, for a total value of $130,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,632,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,459,855.73. This trade represents a 1.04% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 1,763,442 shares of company stock worth $6,405,495 in the last three months. 3.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Grab

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Grab by 201.2% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 35,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,000 after acquiring an additional 23,639 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Grab by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,231,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,817,000 after acquiring an additional 529,433 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Grab by 6.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 52,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 3,090 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth purchased a new stake in Grab during the first quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Grab by 11.7% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 106,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 11,158 shares in the last quarter. 55.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Grab Company Profile

Grab Holdings Inc is a Singapore-based technology company that operates a consumer-facing “super app” across Southeast Asia offering services spanning ride-hailing, food and package delivery, and digital payments. Its platform connects consumers, drivers, merchants and delivery partners through mobile applications and supports on-demand mobility (taxi and private car), last-mile logistics, and on-demand food delivery under brands such as GrabFood and GrabExpress. The company has also developed a merchant-facing ecosystem that supports ordering, payment acceptance and loyalty functions.

Beyond transportation and delivery, Grab has expanded into financial services through Grab Financial Group, which provides digital payments via GrabPay, consumer lending, insurance distribution and small-business financial solutions.