Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Intrepid Potash, Inc (NYSE:IPI) shares gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $45.26, but opened at $43.38. Intrepid Potash shares last traded at $41.44, with a volume of 207,236 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IPI has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Intrepid Potash from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Intrepid Potash in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Sell” and an average price target of $25.00.

Intrepid Potash Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $558.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.18 and a beta of 1.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $34.60 and a 200-day moving average of $30.06.

Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $75.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.25 million. Intrepid Potash had a return on equity of 3.93% and a net margin of 3.75%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Intrepid Potash, Inc will post -0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intrepid Potash

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IPI. Gate City Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Intrepid Potash by 338.6% during the fourth quarter. Gate City Capital Management LLC now owns 914,026 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,346,000 after buying an additional 705,638 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Intrepid Potash by 12.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 726,027 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $22,202,000 after acquiring an additional 81,121 shares during the last quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Intrepid Potash by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. now owns 294,870 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,177,000 after acquiring an additional 35,082 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Intrepid Potash by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 241,039 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,614,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Intrepid Potash by 24.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 230,113 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,222,000 after purchasing an additional 45,577 shares during the last quarter. 56.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Intrepid Potash

Intrepid Potash, Inc is a leading U.S.-based producer and marketer of potash and related specialty fertilizer products. The company’s primary business centers on potassium chloride, a key nutrient used in agricultural applications to enhance crop yield and quality. In addition to potash, Intrepid Potash produces magnesium chloride and sodium chloride, which serve a variety of markets including de-icing, dust control and industrial chemical production.

Intrepid Potash operates through a combination of solution mining, solar evaporation and conventional underground mining techniques.