Traders Buy High Volume of Zoom Video Communications Put Options (NASDAQ:ZM)

Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZM) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 111,754 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 266% compared to the typical daily volume of 30,516 put options.

Zoom Video Communications Stock Performance

Shares of ZM traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $59.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,998,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,330,319. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $65.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.12. Zoom Video Communications has a fifty-two week low of $58.87 and a fifty-two week high of $75.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.04 and a beta of -0.07.

Zoom Video Communications (NASDAQ:ZM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. Zoom Video Communications had a net margin of 14.08% and a return on equity of 9.68%. As a group, analysts predict that Zoom Video Communications will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Zoom Video Communications in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas cut shares of Zoom Video Communications from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Zoom Video Communications from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Zoom Video Communications from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Zoom Video Communications in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Zoom Video Communications presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Aparna Bawa sold 816 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.60, for a total transaction of $54,345.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,978 shares in the company, valued at $131,734.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, COO Aparna Bawa sold 816 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.60, for a total transaction of $54,345.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 1,978 shares in the company, valued at $131,734.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Velchamy Sankarlingam sold 1,553 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $108,710.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 71,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,036,920. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 85,456 shares of company stock worth $5,539,710. 11.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Zoom Video Communications

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC raised its position in Zoom Video Communications by 17.4% in the first quarter. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC now owns 3,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Zoom Video Communications in the first quarter worth $1,652,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Zoom Video Communications by 45.5% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 3,434 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake in Zoom Video Communications by 11.3% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $512,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC acquired a new position in Zoom Video Communications in the first quarter valued at $263,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.54% of the company’s stock.

About Zoom Video Communications

Zoom Video Communications, Inc provides unified communications platform in the Americas, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company offers Zoom Meetings that offers HD video, voice, chat, and content sharing through mobile devices, desktops, laptops, telephones, and conference room systems; Zoom Phone, an enterprise cloud phone system; and Zoom Chat enables users to share messages, images, audio files, and content in desktop, laptop, tablet, and mobile devices.