Stock Traders Buy High Volume of NU Call Options (NYSE:NU)

Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors acquired 162,941 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 65% compared to the average daily volume of 98,622 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on NU from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of NU from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of NU from $13.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of NU from $18.20 to $20.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities lowered shares of NU from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $18.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $18.25.

More NU News

These are some of the NU news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Nu reported third-quarter revenue of $6.26 billion, above the roughly $5.96 billion analyst estimate cited in coverage. Earnings were $0.22 per share, up from $0.16 a year earlier; estimates differed on whether that result met expectations or missed by a penny. Nu Holdings Q3 financial results
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage said results helped ease concerns about Brazil and highlighted growth in Mexico and Colombia, supporting the case that Nu’s expansion beyond its core market can drive business growth. Nu Q3 results and regional growth
• Positive Sentiment: Needham reaffirmed its Buy rating and $19 price target, signaling continued analyst confidence in the shares. Needham rating information

Insider Transactions at NU

In other NU news, CEO Cristina Junqueira sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.01, for a total transaction of $375,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,877,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,212,670.93. This trade represents a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 115,000 shares of company stock worth $1,706,400 over the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NU

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in NU by 990.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 298,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,294,000 after acquiring an additional 271,385 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of NU by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 2,770,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,015,000 after purchasing an additional 146,764 shares during the last quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S increased its position in shares of NU by 1,188.4% in the 2nd quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S now owns 4,973,457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,445,000 after purchasing an additional 4,587,432 shares during the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise increased its position in shares of NU by 50.2% in the 2nd quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 872,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,670,000 after purchasing an additional 291,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of NU by 127.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 38,263,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,421,000 after purchasing an additional 21,405,374 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.02% of the company’s stock.

NU Stock Up 11.0%

Shares of NYSE NU traded up $1.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $13.13. The company had a trading volume of 87,703,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 66,879,531. The company has a market capitalization of $63.78 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.55. NU has a 1-year low of $11.20 and a 1-year high of $18.98. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.25.

NU (NYSE:NU) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 12th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.01). NU had a net margin of 18.65% and a return on equity of 31.59%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that NU will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current year.

NU Company Profile

Nu Holdings Ltd., which operates under the Nubank brand, is a digital financial services company founded in Brazil in 2013. It provides banking and related services through mobile apps and other digital channels, with a focus on simplifying access to financial products. Its offerings include digital accounts, payment cards, credit products, personal loans, and investment services. The company also provides services to small businesses, with products and availability varying by country. Nu serves customers in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia.