Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL)

TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 65,134 put options on the company. This is an increase of 1,339% compared to the average daily volume of 4,527 put options.

TAL Education Group Stock Down 8.4 %

Shares of TAL traded down $0.96 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $10.43. 10,362,214 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,026,442. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $9.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.53. The company has a market cap of $6.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 131.27 and a beta of 0.04. TAL Education Group has a twelve month low of $7.34 and a twelve month high of $15.52.

TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.08. TAL Education Group had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 1.46%. The business had revenue of $414.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $392.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.07) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that TAL Education Group will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on TAL. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of TAL Education Group from $21.30 to $13.40 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of TAL Education Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $13.73.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TAL Education Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in TAL Education Group by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 2,267 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in TAL Education Group by 134.2% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 4,403 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in TAL Education Group by 38.5% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 33,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 9,218 shares during the period. Tobam grew its stake in TAL Education Group by 10.4% during the third quarter. Tobam now owns 19,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 1,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in TAL Education Group by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 4,209,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,919,000 after buying an additional 321,000 shares during the period. 37.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About TAL Education Group

TAL Education Group provides K-12 after-school tutoring services in the People’s Republic of China. It provides learning services primarily through small-classes services; personalized premium services; and learning content solutions, such as print books, smart books, mobile apps, and AI-driven learning devices.