Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Palladyne AI (NASDAQ:PDYN)

Palladyne AI Corp. (NASDAQ:PDYN) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors acquired 3,671 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 64% compared to the average daily volume of 2,245 call options.

Palladyne AI Price Performance

Shares of PDYN stock traded down $0.37 on Wednesday, hitting $6.76. The stock had a trading volume of 3,290,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,286,714. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $5.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.39. Palladyne AI has a 1 year low of $4.14 and a 1 year high of $13.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $284.19 million, a P/E ratio of -4.00 and a beta of 3.79.

Palladyne AI (NASDAQ:PDYN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.20) by $0.11. The company had revenue of $0.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 million. Palladyne AI had a negative net margin of 953.45% and a negative return on equity of 133.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palladyne AI news, insider Kristi Martindale sold 6,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.11, for a total transaction of $34,507.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 305,483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,561,018.13. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CTO Denis Garagic sold 15,611 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.11, for a total transaction of $79,772.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 569,248 shares in the company, valued at $2,908,857.28. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,423 shares of company stock valued at $145,242. 13.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palladyne AI

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Palladyne AI during the third quarter worth $28,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Palladyne AI by 94.3% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 5,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 2,474 shares in the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey purchased a new stake in Palladyne AI during the 2nd quarter worth about $51,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in Palladyne AI in the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Palladyne AI in the 3rd quarter valued at about $86,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PDYN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Palladyne AI in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Palladyne AI from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.50.

Palladyne AI Company Profile

Palladyne AI Corp., a software company, focuses on delivering software that enhances the utility and functionality of third-party stationary and mobile robotic systems in the United States. Its Artificial Intelligence (AI)/ Machine Learning (ML) software platform enables robots to observe, learn, reason, and act in structured and unstructured environments. The company's software platform enables robotic systems to perceive their environment and quickly adapt to changing circumstances by generalizing from their experience using dynamic real-time operations without extensive programming and with minimal robot training.