Lazard Asset Management LLC Purchases Shares of 7,009 Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE:IPI)

Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE:IPI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,009 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $153,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Intrepid Potash as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Glenorchy Capital Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Intrepid Potash by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Glenorchy Capital Ltd now owns 62,928 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Intrepid Potash by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 24,964 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $547,000 after acquiring an additional 5,077 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Intrepid Potash by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 79,162 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,735,000 after acquiring an additional 16,018 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Intrepid Potash by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 19,978 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 4,146 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new stake in shares of Intrepid Potash during the fourth quarter valued at about $87,000. Institutional investors own 56.13% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Intrepid Potash

In related news, major shareholder Robert P. Jornayvaz III sold 47,429 shares of Intrepid Potash stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.54, for a total value of $1,258,765.66. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,164,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,913,632.76. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 180,689 shares of company stock valued at $5,855,784 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IPI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Intrepid Potash from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Intrepid Potash from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th.

Intrepid Potash Trading Down 3.2%

Intrepid Potash stock traded down $1.25 on Wednesday, hitting $37.69. 106,574 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 121,270. The firm has a market cap of $501.92 million, a P/E ratio of -11.24 and a beta of 1.80. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $31.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.84. Intrepid Potash, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.75 and a 1 year high of $39.01.

Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.12) by $0.51. Intrepid Potash had a negative net margin of 16.86% and a negative return on equity of 1.32%. The company had revenue of $97.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.34 million. As a group, analysts predict that Intrepid Potash, Inc. will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Intrepid Potash Profile

Intrepid Potash, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the extraction and production of the potash in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Potash, Trio, and Oilfield Solutions. The company offers muriate of potash for various markets, such as agricultural market as a fertilizer input; the industrial market as a component in drilling and fracturing fluids for oil and gas wells, as well as an input to other industrial processes; and the animal feed market as a nutrient supplement.