Investors Purchase High Volume of Paramount Global Call Options (NASDAQ:PARA)

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 78,008 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 16% compared to the typical volume of 67,534 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Paramount Global from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Paramount Global from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Paramount Global from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $9.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.29.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paramount Global

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PARA. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Paramount Global in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Paramount Global in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Archer Investment Corp bought a new position in Paramount Global in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Paramount Global in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Paramount Global in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors own 73.00% of the company’s stock.

Paramount Global Trading Up 7.6 %

PARA traded up $0.81 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $11.53. 28,295,686 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,901,838. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.68 billion, a PE ratio of -76.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 1.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $11.67 and its 200 day moving average is $12.33. Paramount Global has a 12 month low of $9.54 and a 12 month high of $17.50.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $7.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.73 billion. Paramount Global had a negative net margin of 0.15% and a positive return on equity of 3.35%. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.09 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Paramount Global will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Paramount Global Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 17th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Paramount Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -133.33%.

Paramount Global Company Profile

Paramount Global operates as a media, streaming, and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through TV Media, Direct-to-Consumer, and Filmed Entertainment segments. The TV Media segment operates CBS Television Network, a domestic broadcast television network; CBS Stations, a television station; and international free-to-air networks comprising Network 10, Channel 5, Telefe, and Chilevisión; domestic premium and basic cable networks, such as Paramount+ with Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, The Smithsonian Channel, Nickelodeon, BET Media Group, and CBS Sports Network; and international extensions of these brands.