Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $18.34 Million Stake in Green Plains, Inc. $GPRE

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) by 155.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,114,743 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 678,515 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 1.60% of Green Plains worth $18,338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPRE. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the 3rd quarter valued at $8,561,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Green Plains by 112.6% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,823,740 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $17,873,000 after purchasing an additional 966,069 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,696,401 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $46,025,000 after buying an additional 645,170 shares during the last quarter. Thomist Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 619.8% during the 4th quarter. Thomist Capital Management LP now owns 747,192 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $7,270,000 after buying an additional 643,392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Green Plains by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,604,915 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $15,728,000 after buying an additional 577,489 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GPRE. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Green Plains in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Stephens boosted their price target on Green Plains from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Zacks Research raised Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Green Plains from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $14.29.

Green Plains Price Performance

GPRE opened at $15.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.02. Green Plains, Inc. has a one year low of $5.60 and a one year high of $18.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.73 and a beta of 1.19.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $445.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $532.53 million. Green Plains had a positive return on equity of 2.86% and a negative net margin of 0.80%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.14) EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Green Plains, Inc. will post 2.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Green Plains

Green Plains Inc is a leading producer of fuel-grade ethanol and related co-products in the United States. Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, the company operates an integrated network of biorefineries that convert corn and other grains into renewable fuels. Through its production facilities, Green Plains supplies ethanol to domestic fuel markets and export channels, supporting efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote cleaner-burning transportation options.

Beyond ethanol, Green Plains manufactures a range of co-products that add value throughout the agricultural supply chain.