Amplify Energy Corp. (NYSE:AMPY) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Amplify Energy Corp. experienced a significant 72.2% increase in short interest in September, with a total of 2,290,000 shares sold short, reflecting growing bearish sentiment among investors.
• Analysts have rated AMPY stock as a "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $8.50, with two analysts recommending a buy and one holding the stock.
• Corporate insiders showed confidence in the company by acquiring a total of 425,000 shares valued at $1,603,845 during the last quarter, increasing their stake to 10.30% of the company’s stock.

Amplify Energy Corp. (NYSE:AMPY - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,290,000 shares, an increase of 72.2% from the September 15th total of 1,330,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,110,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days. Currently, 7.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Currently, 7.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,110,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMPY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Alliance Global Partners assumed coverage on shares of Amplify Energy in a research note on Monday, June 30th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $6.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Amplify Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Amplify Energy in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $8.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Clint D. Coghill bought 65,494 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $3.89 per share, for a total transaction of $254,771.66. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,504,347 shares in the company, valued at $13,631,909.83. The trade was a 1.90% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider James Frew purchased 25,000 shares of Amplify Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $3.70 per share, for a total transaction of $92,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 129,222 shares in the company, valued at $478,121.40. This represents a 23.99% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 425,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,603,845 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 10.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amplify Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AMPY. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Amplify Energy by 71.6% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 639,998 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,388,000 after acquiring an additional 266,947 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Amplify Energy by 31.9% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 66,478 shares of the company's stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 16,064 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Amplify Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $649,000. Ethic Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Amplify Energy during the first quarter worth $522,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amplify Energy during the first quarter worth $275,000. 42.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amplify Energy Trading Down 0.4%

AMPY traded down $0.02 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $4.22. 668,245 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,669,389. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Amplify Energy has a one year low of $2.27 and a one year high of $7.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $4.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.58 million, a PE ratio of 12.04 and a beta of 0.44.

Amplify Energy (NYSE:AMPY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $68.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.51 million. Amplify Energy had a return on equity of 6.61% and a net margin of 5.64%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Amplify Energy will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Amplify Energy

Amplify Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, development, exploitation, and production of oil and natural gas properties in the United States. The company's properties consist of operated and non-operated working interests in producing and undeveloped leasehold acreage, as well as working interests in identified producing wells located in Oklahoma, the Rockies, federal waters offshore Southern California, East Texas/North Louisiana, and Eagle Ford.

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