Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE)

Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 7,774 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 919% compared to the average volume of 763 call options.

Green Plains Stock Performance

GPRE opened at $15.13 on Thursday. Green Plains has a 12-month low of $14.35 and a 12-month high of $36.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $977.70 million, a PE ratio of -12.30 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $17.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.44.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.33) by ($0.48). The business had revenue of $597.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $654.40 million. Green Plains had a negative return on equity of 7.86% and a negative net margin of 2.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 28.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($1.20) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Green Plains will post -0.25 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Green Plains

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GPRE. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Green Plains during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $246,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Green Plains during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $164,000. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al purchased a new position in shares of Green Plains during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,475,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 26,565 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $670,000 after purchasing an additional 901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zenyatta Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Zenyatta Capital Management LP now owns 500,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $12,610,000 after purchasing an additional 28,000 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GPRE. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Green Plains from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 20th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Green Plains from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Roth Mkm decreased their price objective on shares of Green Plains from $55.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.38.

Green Plains Company Profile

Green Plains Inc produces low-carbon fuels in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Ethanol Production, Agribusiness and Energy Services, and Partnership. The Ethanol Production segment produces ethanol, distillers grains, and ultra-high protein and renewable corn oil.