Planet Fitness Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:PLNT)

Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders acquired 5,129 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 107% compared to the average daily volume of 2,476 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Planet Fitness

In other Planet Fitness news, CAO Brian O’donnell sold 6,424 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.39, for a total value of $497,153.36. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,778 shares in the company, valued at $524,549.42. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.94% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Planet Fitness

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Planet Fitness by 169.8% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,317,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,985,000 after acquiring an additional 829,509 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Planet Fitness during the second quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Anomaly Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Planet Fitness in the second quarter worth approximately $106,795,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Planet Fitness by 3.3% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $967,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd raised its holdings in Planet Fitness by 173.5% during the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 22,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after buying an additional 14,385 shares during the last quarter. 95.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Planet Fitness Stock Performance

Shares of PLNT opened at $79.76 on Thursday. Planet Fitness has a 52-week low of $44.13 and a 52-week high of $80.40. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.49.

Planet Fitness (NYSE:PLNT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $300.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.17 million. Planet Fitness had a net margin of 14.16% and a negative return on equity of 121.99%. Planet Fitness’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Planet Fitness will post 2.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PLNT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $79.00 price target on shares of Planet Fitness in a report on Friday, June 14th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Planet Fitness in a research report on Friday, June 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Planet Fitness from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Planet Fitness from $77.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Planet Fitness from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Planet Fitness presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.87.

Planet Fitness Company Profile

Planet Fitness, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, franchises and operates fitness centers under the Planet Fitness brand. The company operates through three segments: Franchise, Corporate-Owned Stores, and Equipment. The company is involved in franchising business in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Panama, Mexico, and Australia.