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

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors purchased 11,404 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 294% compared to the average volume of 2,892 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GPRE. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Green Plains from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Roth Capital cut shares of Green Plains from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Tudor Pickering raised Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Green Plains to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Green Plains currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.00.

Green Plains Stock Up 0.2%

GPRE stock opened at $10.25 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $715.76 million, a P/E ratio of -3.51 and a beta of 1.40. Green Plains has a fifty-two week low of $3.14 and a fifty-two week high of $12.31. The business has a 50-day moving average of $10.09 and a 200-day moving average of $8.37.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $508.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $583.55 million. Green Plains had a negative return on equity of 16.78% and a negative net margin of 8.37%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Green Plains will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michelle Mapes sold 30,954 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.51, for a total transaction of $294,372.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 60,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $575,906.58. The trade was a 33.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Green Plains

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPRE. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in Green Plains by 46.5% in the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 5,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,838 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 192.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,547 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Green Plains by 54.6% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,503 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 3,002 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in Green Plains by 115.2% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,981 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 4,808 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in Green Plains by 2,313.4% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 9,340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 8,953 shares during the period.

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.