Gevo (NASDAQ:GEVO) Trading 13% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Gevo's stock price increased by 13% following an upgrade by UBS Group, raising its price target from $1.15 to $2.25, with the last trade recorded at $2.14.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Gevo, with one having a "Buy" rating, while two others have assigned a "Hold" rating, resulting in a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $8.13.
• Insider trading activity includes CEO Patrick R. Gruber and COO Christopher Michael Ryan selling shares, resulting in a combined decrease of approximately 2.95% and 2.56% in their positions, respectively.

Gevo, Inc. (NASDAQ:GEVO - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 13% during trading on Wednesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $1.15 to $2.25. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Gevo traded as high as $2.12 and last traded at $2.14. 3,192,733 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 34% from the average session volume of 4,869,167 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.89.

GEVO has been the topic of a number of other reports. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Gevo in a report on Friday, May 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Gevo from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Gevo from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $8.13.

Insider Activity at Gevo

In other Gevo news, Director Gary W. Mize sold 91,459 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.68, for a total transaction of $153,651.12. Following the sale, the director directly owned 388,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at $652,387.68. The trade was a 19.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Patrick R. Gruber sold 116,060 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.23, for a total value of $142,753.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,847,104 shares in the company, valued at $4,731,937.92. The trade was a 2.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 751,885 shares of company stock valued at $1,059,584 over the last ninety days. 6.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gevo

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of GEVO. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Gevo during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Gevo by 138.1% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 20,927 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 12,136 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Gevo during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in Gevo during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Gevo during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 35.17% of the company's stock.

Gevo Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $488.52 million, a P/E ratio of -7.77 and a beta of 2.18. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.35.

Gevo (NASDAQ:GEVO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The energy company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $43.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.69 million. Gevo had a negative return on equity of 12.04% and a negative net margin of 72.76%. As a group, analysts forecast that Gevo, Inc. will post -0.42 EPS for the current year.

Gevo Company Profile

Gevo, Inc operates as a carbon abatement company. It operates through three segments: Gevo, Agri-Energy, and Renewable Natural Gas. The company focuses on transforming renewable energy into energy-dense liquid hydrocarbons that can be used as renewable fuels. It offers renewable gasoline and diesel, isobutanol, sustainable aviation fuel, renewable natural gas, isobutylene, ethanol, and animal feed and protein.