Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Avis Budget Group Call Options (NASDAQ:CAR)

Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 11,523 call options on the company. This is an increase of 122% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,184 call options.

Avis Budget Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CAR opened at $84.59 on Friday. Avis Budget Group has a fifty-two week low of $54.03 and a fifty-two week high of $132.25. The company has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.63 and a beta of 2.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $73.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.63.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.50) by $0.27. Avis Budget Group had a negative net margin of 15.45% and a negative return on equity of 14.74%. Research analysts predict that Avis Budget Group will post 8.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lynn Krominga sold 1,405 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $133,475.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,950 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $185,250. This represents a 41.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 52.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Avis Budget Group

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CAR. Steadfast Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Avis Budget Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,747,000. ING Groep NV increased its stake in shares of Avis Budget Group by 310.4% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 325,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,198,000 after purchasing an additional 245,800 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Avis Budget Group by 266.7% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 330,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,601,000 after buying an additional 240,000 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Avis Budget Group by 93.2% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 490,473 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $39,537,000 after buying an additional 236,576 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Avis Budget Group by 1,391.0% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 253,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,410,000 after buying an additional 236,218 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.35% of the company’s stock.

About Avis Budget Group

Avis Budget Group, Inc engages in the provision of vehicle sharing and rental services. It operates through the following segments: Americas, International, and Corporate and Other. The Americas segment includes the vehicle rental and car sharing operations in North America, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.