Traders Buy High Volume of GAP Call Options (NYSE:GAP)

The Gap, Inc. (NYSE:GAP) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders purchased 14,111 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 68% compared to the typical daily volume of 8,378 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GAP. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its stake in shares of GAP by 112.2% during the first quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 1,704,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,237,000 after purchasing an additional 900,855 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of GAP by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,462,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,645,000 after buying an additional 121,001 shares during the period. Robinhood Asset Management LLC bought a new position in GAP in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,312,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in GAP by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,195,934 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,816,000 after buying an additional 368,191 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in GAP in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $428,824,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on GAP shares. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of GAP from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut GAP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $23.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective (down from $26.00) on shares of GAP in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective (down from $26.00) on shares of GAP in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded GAP from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.29.

GAP Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GAP traded up $1.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $21.44. 8,221,220 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,648,274. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.81. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.98. GAP has a 52 week low of $18.11 and a 52 week high of $29.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 2.05.

GAP (NYSE:GAP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.01). GAP had a return on equity of 21.13% and a net margin of 6.25%.The firm had revenue of $3.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. GAP has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.300-2.400 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that GAP will post 2.33 EPS for the current year.

GAP Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 7th will be paid a $0.175 dividend. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 7th. GAP’s payout ratio is 27.56%.

GAP Company Profile

Gap Inc is a global specialty retailer renowned for its portfolio of apparel and accessories brands, including Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and Athleta. The company designs, sources and markets clothing across a broad price range and style spectrum, catering to men, women and children. Its offerings extend from everyday wardrobe essentials such as denim, tees and outerwear to performance and lifestyle pieces, reflecting each brand’s distinct identity and price point.

Founded in San Francisco in 1969 by Donald and Doris Fisher, Gap Inc has grown into one of the world’s largest apparel companies.