Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Vertex Energy (NASDAQ:VTNR)

by · The Markets Daily

Vertex Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:VTNR – Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders purchased 5,459 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 541% compared to the typical daily volume of 852 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on VTNR shares. Craig Hallum lowered Vertex Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $1.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Energy in a report on Thursday. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.63.

Read Our Latest Analysis on VTNR

Vertex Energy Trading Down 11.3 %

VTNR stock opened at $0.13 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $0.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $0.91. Vertex Energy has a fifty-two week low of $0.11 and a fifty-two week high of $5.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Vertex Energy (NASDAQ:VTNR – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The industrial products company reported ($0.58) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.48). Vertex Energy had a negative net margin of 3.61% and a negative return on equity of 58.04%. The firm had revenue of $750.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $729.29 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.55) EPS. Analysts predict that Vertex Energy will post -0.77 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTNR. Victory Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Energy by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 130,402 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 13,533 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Willis Johnson & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Oracle Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Energy by 97.6% in the fourth quarter. Oracle Investment Management Inc. now owns 50,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 24,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.99% of the company’s stock.

About Vertex Energy

(Get Free Report)

Vertex Energy, Inc, an energy transition company, that focuses on the production and distribution of conventional and alternative fuels. The company engages in refining and distributing petroleum products comprising the mobile refinery and related operations. It sells ferrous and non-ferrous recyclable metal products, and markets Group III base oils and other petroleum-based products, as well as provides transportation and marine salvage services.

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