Unusual Options Trading Activity in Veritone, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERI)

On Thursday, Veritone, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERI) experienced a significant spike in options trading. Investors engaged in purchasing a total of 11,012 call options for the stock, marking an astonishing 1,191% increase compared to the average volume of just 853 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

In a separate development, UBS Group upgraded their rating on Veritone shares from "sell" to "neutral" and established a target price of $3.50 for the stock in a report released on October 30th.

Recent Stock Performance

As of Friday, Veritone's stock opened at $3.36. The company's 50-day simple moving average stands at $2.98, while the 200-day average is $3.06. Veritone has a market capitalization of approximately $128.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.56, and a beta of 3.22. Over the past year, the stock has hit a low of $1.48 and a high of $7.76. The company possesses a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66, with a notable debt-to-equity ratio of 9.02.

Insider Trading Activity

In related news, Director Chad Steelberg sold 504,657 shares of Veritone's stock on December 13th, at an average price of $2.52. This transaction totaled approximately $1,271,735 and represented a 94.06% reduction in his ownership of the company’s shares. Post-transaction, Steelberg retains ownership of 31,861 shares valued at $80,289.72. Insider ownership in the company stands at around 26.60%.

Institutional Investor Actions

Several institutional investors have recently adjusted their holdings in Veritone. XTX Topco Ltd made a new investment in Veritone worth nearly $132,000 during the third quarter. Meanwhile, Benjamin Edwards Inc. also acquired a new stake valued at approximately $65,000 in the same quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP significantly increased its holdings by 559.7%, owning 108,614 shares valued at about $390,000. Private Management Group Inc. raised its stake by 18.6% and now owns 2,891,845 shares valued at $10,382,000 after acquiring an additional 452,861 shares. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors similarly boosted its position by 136.1%, now holding 70,600 shares worth $253,000. Overall, institutional investors control about 39.18% of the company's stock.

Company Overview

Veritone, Inc. engages in providing artificial intelligence (AI) solutions and services across several countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Israel, and India. The company is known for developing its aiWARE platform, which operates as an AI operating system. This platform utilizes machine learning algorithms designed to duplicate human cognitive functions such as perception and problem solving, enabling users to convert unstructured data into structured formats and optimize data processing for better business insights.

options, trading, analysis