Investors Buy Large Volume of YPF Sociedad Anónima Call Options (NYSE:YPF)

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Traders bought 10,787 call options on the company. This is an increase of 117% compared to the typical daily volume of 4,969 call options.

YPF Sociedad Anónima Trading Up 1.4%

YPF stock opened at $43.14 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. YPF Sociedad Anónima has a twelve month low of $22.82 and a twelve month high of $43.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.45 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.15.

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The oil and gas exploration company reported ($1.67) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.77 by ($2.44). YPF Sociedad Anónima had a negative return on equity of 0.26% and a negative net margin of 4.48%.The firm had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that YPF Sociedad Anónima will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on YPF shares. Zacks Research raised shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “hold (c)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other YPF Sociedad Anónima news, VP Marcelo Gustavo Aldeco sold 12,719 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.61, for a total value of $554,675.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 101 shares in the company, valued at $4,404.61. This represents a 99.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of YPF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 194.9% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,898,315 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $154,052,000 after buying an additional 3,237,154 shares during the period. VR Advisory Services Ltd boosted its holdings in YPF Sociedad Anónima by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. VR Advisory Services Ltd now owns 3,605,533 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $87,578,000 after acquiring an additional 200,000 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in YPF Sociedad Anónima by 55.7% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,379,408 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $106,282,000 after acquiring an additional 1,208,440 shares during the period. Ping Capital Management Inc. grew its position in YPF Sociedad Anónima by 36.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ping Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,017,000 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $48,993,000 after acquiring an additional 534,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North of South Capital LLP grew its position in YPF Sociedad Anónima by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. North of South Capital LLP now owns 1,670,378 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $60,401,000 after acquiring an additional 50,395 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 10.08% of the company’s stock.

About YPF Sociedad Anónima

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE: YPF) is an integrated oil and gas company headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The company’s primary businesses encompass upstream exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, midstream transportation and storage, and downstream refining and distribution. YPF operates several major refineries and a nationwide network of service stations, supplying fuels, lubricants, and petrochemical products to both retail and industrial customers.

Founded in 1922 as Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales, YPF was the world’s first state‐owned oil company.