Investors Buy Large Volume of Wolfspeed Put Options (NYSE:WOLF)

Wolfspeed, Inc. (NYSE:WOLF) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors purchased 54,369 put options on the company. This is an increase of 72% compared to the average volume of 31,524 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wolfspeed

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Wolfspeed by 1,240.6% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 3,548 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Wolfspeed during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in Wolfspeed by 192.0% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 2,912 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Wolfspeed by 76.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,629 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Wolfspeed by 38.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 1,949 shares in the last quarter.

Wolfspeed Stock Down 48.0 %

WOLF traded down $2.59 during trading on Friday, hitting $2.80. The company had a trading volume of 96,848,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,266,715. The company has a market capitalization of $356.96 million, a PE ratio of -0.36 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a quick ratio of 2.47, a current ratio of 3.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.26. Wolfspeed has a one year low of $2.71 and a one year high of $30.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $5.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.15.

Wolfspeed (NYSE:WOLF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The company reported ($1.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.90) by ($0.20). Wolfspeed had a negative net margin of 125.96% and a negative return on equity of 70.84%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Wolfspeed will post -4 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Wolfspeed to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Wolfspeed from $9.50 to $6.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Wolfspeed from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Wolfspeed from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Wolfspeed from $18.00 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.86.

About Wolfspeed

Wolfspeed, Inc operates as a powerhouse semiconductor company focuses on silicon carbide and gallium nitride (GaN) technologies in Europe, Hong Kong, China, rest of Asia-Pacific, the United States, and internationally. It offers silicon carbide and GaN materials, including silicon carbide bare wafers, epitaxial wafers, and GaN epitaxial layers on silicon carbide wafers to manufacture products for RF, power, and other applications.