ProPetro (NYSE:PUMP) Coverage Initiated at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of ProPetro with an “equal weight” rating and a $13.00 price target, implying approximately 14% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive: ProPetro has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from 12 analysts, with an average price target of $15.78.
• ProPetro reported a quarterly loss of $0.07 per share, missing estimates by $0.06, while revenue reached $305.81 million and declined 6.3% year over year. Two company insiders also sold shares in August.

Research analysts at Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of ProPetro (NYSE:PUMP - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Monday, Briefing.com reports. The firm set an "equal weight" rating and a $13.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective indicates a potential upside of 13.98% from the stock's previous close.

PUMP has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of ProPetro in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup lowered their price target on ProPetro from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $16.00 price target on shares of ProPetro in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Odeon Capital Group began coverage on ProPetro in a report on Thursday, May 28th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of ProPetro from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $15.78.

ProPetro Stock Performance

Shares of PUMP opened at $11.41 on Monday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $11.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -103.69 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 4.00 and a current ratio of 4.09. ProPetro has a 52-week low of $4.64 and a 52-week high of $18.50.

ProPetro (NYSE:PUMP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $305.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $304.48 million. ProPetro had a negative net margin of 1.15% and a negative return on equity of 1.49%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.07) EPS. Research analysts forecast that ProPetro will post -0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director G Lawrence sold 35,831 shares of ProPetro stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.16, for a total value of $399,873.96. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 28,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at $314,499.96. The trade was a 55.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Adam Muñoz sold 70,696 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.17, for a total transaction of $789,674.32. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 148,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,660,878.47. The trade was a 32.22% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of ProPetro

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PUMP. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in ProPetro during the fourth quarter valued at $56,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of ProPetro in the 3rd quarter worth about $57,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in ProPetro during the 2nd quarter valued at about $60,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in ProPetro by 70.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,789 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 4,461 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in ProPetro during the second quarter worth about $74,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.70% of the company's stock.

About ProPetro

ProPetro Holding Corp. is an oilfield services company that provides completion and production services to exploration and production companies developing unconventional oil and natural gas wells. The company primarily serves customers in the Permian Basin, including the Midland and Delaware basins of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico.

Its principal services include hydraulic fracturing, which uses high-pressure fluid to stimulate wells, as well as wireline services used for well evaluation, perforating and other completion activities.

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