PulteGroup Rises 0.11% Despite 22.41% Volume Drop to $250M Ranking 421st in Market Activity

PulteGroup (PHM) closed August 15, 2025, with a 0.11% gain, while trading volume fell 22.41% to $250 million, ranking 421st in market activity. The stock traded at $130.01 during midday sessions, reflecting a 5.4% intraday increase on 3.06 million shares exchanged, well above its 21-day average volume of 2.18 million shares.

Analyst coverage intensified in July, with Wedbush reaffirming an "outperform" rating and raising its price target to $150 (15.38% upside from prior close). Raymond James and Oppenheimer also raised targets to $140 and $140, respectively, while Seaport Res Ptn upgraded to "strong-buy." The stock now carries a "Moderate Buy" consensus rating with a $135.31 average target across six brokerages. Institutional ownership expanded as Franklin Resources and JPMorgan Chase increased stakes in Q2, with total institutional ownership at 89.9% of shares outstanding.

Recent earnings showed mixed results: Q2 EPS of $3.03 beat estimates but revenue dipped 4.3% year-over-year to $4.4 billion. The company maintains a 15.5% net margin and 21% return on equity, with a 52-week range of $88.07-$149.47. Technical indicators show the stock trading above both its 50-day ($110.08) and 200-day ($105.42) moving averages.

A strategy buying top 500 volume stocks daily and holding one day from 2022 through 2025 generated $10,720 in profit, representing 1.08x cumulative returns. This suggests volume-driven strategies can capture short-term momentum in active stocks like PHM.