Traders Buy Large Volume of Hello Group Call Options (NASDAQ:MOMO)

Hello Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MOMO) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 8,207 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 861% compared to the typical volume of 854 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hello Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MOMO. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new position in Hello Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $158,000. Caprock Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hello Group by 47.3% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 35,763 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 11,484 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hello Group by 62.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,287 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 2,414 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hello Group by 86.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,676 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 14,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Hello Group by 30.1% during the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 14,717 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 3,407 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MOMO shares. StockNews.com raised Hello Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Citigroup raised their price target on Hello Group from $5.90 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Hello Group from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.25.

Hello Group Price Performance

MOMO traded down $0.27 on Friday, reaching $7.19. 433,277 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 793,464. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $7.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a PE ratio of 7.41, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.48. Hello Group has a fifty-two week low of $4.79 and a fifty-two week high of $8.19.

Hello Group Company Profile

Hello Group Inc provides mobile-based social and entertainment services in the People's Republic of China. It operates in three segments: Momo, Tantan, and QOOL. The company offers Momo, a mobile application that connects people and facilitates social interactions based on location, interests, and various online recreational activities, including live talent shows, short videos, social games, as well as other video- and audio-based interactive experiences, such as online parties, mobile karaoke and user participated reality shows; Tantan, a social and dating application; and other applications under the Hertz, Soulchill, Duidui, and Tietie names.