Contango ORE (NYSEAMERICAN:CTGO) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Contango ORE, Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:CTGO)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $16.51, but opened at $18.05. Contango ORE shares last traded at $18.1850, with a volume of 103,262 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on CTGO shares. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on Contango ORE in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Contango ORE to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Contango ORE Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $561.10 million, a PE ratio of -9.43 and a beta of -0.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.70.

Contango ORE (NYSEAMERICAN:CTGO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.99). Equities research analysts forecast that Contango ORE, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Contango ORE

In other news, CFO Michael Aaron Clark sold 10,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.92, for a total value of $180,544.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 39,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $713,180.16. This represents a 20.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David Gregory Larimer sold 2,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.92, for a total value of $49,728.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 12,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $229,250.56. This trade represents a 17.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 34,471 shares of company stock valued at $617,720 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Contango ORE

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CTGO. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of Contango ORE in the third quarter worth about $36,772,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Contango ORE by 223.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 726,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,108,000 after acquiring an additional 501,641 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new position in Contango ORE during the third quarter valued at approximately $8,531,000. Glazer Capital LLC bought a new position in Contango ORE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,453,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Contango ORE by 1,908.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 207,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,897,000 after buying an additional 197,492 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 19.14% of the company’s stock.

About Contango ORE

Contango ORE Royalty Trust (NYSE American: CTGO) is a grantor royalty trust that holds net overriding royalty interests in oil and gas properties. As a non‐operating entity, the trust itself does not engage in exploration, drilling or production activities but instead receives a percentage of revenues generated by producing wells. This structure offers investors exposure to commodity price movements and production volumes without the direct capital expenditure or operational risks associated with upstream oil and gas companies.

The trust’s assets consist primarily of royalty interests in offshore leases located on the continental shelf of the Gulf of Mexico.