What Happened to American Capital Agency Corp. (AGNC) on Friday?

American Capital Agency Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) experienced a strange bit of options trading activity on Friday. According to a report by Analyst Ratings Network, followed up by The Utah’s People Post, traders bought 14,101 call options on the stock.

While this may not sound like a big deal on the surface, it shows an increase of more than 120 percent when compared to the typical volume. Any change that is this significant is sure to drum up a lot of attention.

Lately, the company has been at the middle of several research reports.

Earlier this month, analysts at Nomura cut their price target to $22 from $32. They were not alone, with analysts at the Jefferies Group dropping their price target from $22 to $21.

Although it has been several weeks since these price target cuts, it doesn’t appear that things have died down for American Capital Agency Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) in the slightest.

An Uptick in Activity for American Capital Agency Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC)

When we take a look back at what happened on Friday, with trading up 5.75 percent, it is easy to see that there was plenty of buying activity. In fact, 10,074,794 shares of the company’s stock traded hands.

At the time of posting, shares stood at $22.82, which is not much better than its 52 week low of $20.20. When compared to its 52-week high of $36.77 it is easy to see that the company has a lot of catching up to do.

For the time being, traders will continue to keep a close eye on the company and its overall performance. We only have to go back a few weeks to see its latest earnings data reported on July 30^th,  which included  $4.61 earnings per share (EPS) as well as revenue of $414.00 million for the quarter.

This is an increase of nearly eight percent when compared to the same quarter from 2012.

This real estate investment trust is worth keeping an eye on, especially with so much moving and shaking taking place last week. It will be interesting to see what happens with American Capital Agency Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) over the next few days, as well as the current quarter.

Are you expecting to see more buying going on this week? Do you expect American Capital Agency Corp. (NASDAQ:AGNC) to climb towards its 52-week high, or eventually set a new low? Share your thoughts in the comment section below, adding your insight on what you expect in the months to come.

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