Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on TKO Group (NYSE:TKO)

TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:TKO) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders purchased 22,670 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 173% compared to the average daily volume of 8,318 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at TKO Group

In other TKO Group news, CAO Shane Kapral sold 1,034 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.94, for a total transaction of $146,765.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,225 shares in the company, valued at $315,816.50. This represents a 31.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Patrick Whitesell purchased 263,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $146.97 per share, with a total value of $38,682,504.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 418,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,519,731.39. This trade represents a 169.38 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 2,184,350 shares of company stock worth $343,066,252 and sold 71,457 shares worth $10,153,456. Company insiders own 53.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TKO Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in TKO Group by 559.3% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 178 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of TKO Group during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of TKO Group by 491.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 278 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of TKO Group by 172.2% during the 4th quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of TKO Group during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on TKO shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of TKO Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of TKO Group in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of TKO Group from $128.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of TKO Group from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of TKO Group from $142.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $157.00.

TKO Group Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of TKO stock opened at $139.26 on Friday. TKO Group has a 12-month low of $79.65 and a 12-month high of $179.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $153.66 and its 200 day moving average is $137.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -331.56 and a beta of 1.08.

TKO Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. TKO Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7,600.00%.

TKO Group Company Profile

TKO Group Holdings, Inc operates as a sports and entertainment company. The company produces and licenses live events, television programs, and long-form and short-form content, reality series, and other filmed entertainment on digital and linear channels and via pay-per-view. It is involved in the merchandising of video games, apparel, equipment, trading cards, memorabilia, digital goods, and toys, as well as sale of travel packages and tickets.