Marqeta Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:MQ)

Marqeta, Inc. (NASDAQ:MQ) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders acquired 3,285 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 62% compared to the typical volume of 2,028 put options.

Marqeta Stock Performance

Marqeta stock opened at $3.93 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $4.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.20. The firm has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 196.50 and a beta of 1.73. Marqeta has a 52 week low of $3.37 and a 52 week high of $7.36.

Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $127.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $128.05 million. Marqeta had a return on equity of 1.20% and a net margin of 2.86%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.07) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Marqeta will post 0.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Marqeta

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MQ. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marqeta by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,435,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $282,717,000 after purchasing an additional 1,642,621 shares during the last quarter. Visa Foundation bought a new position in Marqeta in the second quarter valued at approximately $68,197,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings in Marqeta by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 8,333,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,001,000 after acquiring an additional 319,661 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Marqeta by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,438,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,759,000 after acquiring an additional 389,045 shares during the period. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Marqeta by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 7,420,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,510,000 after acquiring an additional 1,767,845 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MQ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Marqeta from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group cut their target price on Marqeta from $8.50 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Marqeta from $5.50 to $4.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Marqeta from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $7.00 to $5.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Marqeta from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given 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 $6.27.

About Marqeta

Marqeta, Inc operates a cloud-based open application programming interface platform that delivers card issuing and transaction processing services. It offers its solutions in various verticals, including financial services, on-demand services, expense management, and e-commerce enablement, as well as buy now, pay later.