Wall Street Zen Upgrades Gevo (NASDAQ:GEVO) to Hold

Key Points

• Gevo was upgraded from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating by analysts at Wall Street Zen, reflecting a more positive outlook for the stock.
• The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, despite a negative net margin of 72.76%.
• Insider trading activity included CEO Patrick R. Gruber selling 116,060 shares, indicating a 2.93% decrease in ownership, while institutional investors now own 35.17% of the company's stock.

Gevo (NASDAQ:GEVO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Gevo in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Gevo from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $8.13.

Gevo Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of Gevo stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $2.09. The stock had a trading volume of 6,308,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,042,588. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $1.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1.35. Gevo has a 12-month low of $0.92 and a 12-month high of $3.39. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $505.45 million, a P/E ratio of -8.04 and a beta of 2.18.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Patrick R. Gruber sold 116,060 shares of Gevo stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.23, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 2.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Christopher Michael Ryan sold 42,499 shares of Gevo stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.23, for a total transaction of $52,273.77. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 1,633,621 shares in the company, valued at $2,009,353.83. This represents a 2.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 756,885 shares of company stock worth $1,066,334 over the last three months. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gevo

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GEVO. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Gevo by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 92,965 shares of the energy company's stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 9,249 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 12,136 shares during the last quarter. Centerpoint Advisory Group grew its position in Gevo by 55.6% during the 1st quarter. Centerpoint Advisory Group now owns 56,000 shares of the energy company's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Gevo during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Gevo during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. 35.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.