XPENG Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:XPEV)

XPENG Inc. Sponsored ADR (NYSE:XPEV) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors purchased 69,118 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 68% compared to the typical volume of 41,099 call options.

XPENG Stock Performance

NYSE:XPEV traded down $1.48 on Monday, hitting $16.50. The stock had a trading volume of 15,097,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,218,566. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.97. The stock has a market cap of $15.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -39.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.16. XPENG has a 52-week low of $14.76 and a 52-week high of $28.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

XPENG (NYSE:XPEV) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 17th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.47) by $0.41. XPENG had a negative net margin of 4.02% and a negative return on equity of 9.25%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.48 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that XPENG will post -0.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded XPENG from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Macquarie set a $26.00 price objective on shares of XPENG and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Loop Capital set a $25.00 target price on shares of XPENG in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of XPENG in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued a “reduce” rating on shares of XPENG in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, XPENG presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.42.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in XPENG by 33.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 23,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $490,000 after acquiring an additional 5,945 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of XPENG by 18,967.9% in the second quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,000 after acquiring an additional 10,053 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in XPENG by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 77,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 4,926 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of XPENG by 3.9% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 17,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of XPENG by 228.7% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,639,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,313,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140,593 shares during the last quarter. 21.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About XPENG

XPENG Inc (NYSE: XPEV) is a China-based developer and manufacturer of smart electric vehicles. The company designs, engineers and sells battery-electric sedans and sport-utility vehicles along with related software and services. Founded in 2014, XPENG positions itself as a technology-driven automaker with a focus on vehicle connectivity, software-defined features and advanced driver assistance systems.

Product offerings center on passenger EVs spanning compact crossovers and midsize sedans, supported by in-house software platforms and over-the-air update capabilities.