Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Green Plains, Inc. saw its stock price rise from $7.40 to a high of $8.37, with a trading volume of over 1 million shares after the market opened on Monday.
• Analysts have downgraded Green Plains stock, with Bank of America reducing its target price from $10 to $4.50, resulting in an average rating of "Hold" with a consensus target price of $7.30.
• In its latest earnings report, Green Plains missed the earnings per share estimate by a significant margin and reported a 10.7% decline in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $7.40, but opened at $8.12. Green Plains shares last traded at $8.37, with a volume of 1,020,307 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPRE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America cut shares of Green Plains from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $4.50 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Green Plains from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Green Plains has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $7.30.

Green Plains Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $552.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.99 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $6.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.72.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by ($0.81). Green Plains had a negative return on equity of 12.76% and a negative net margin of 4.22%. The firm had revenue of $552.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.18 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.38) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Green Plains, Inc. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Green Plains

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in shares of Green Plains by 46.5% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 5,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,838 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Green Plains by 54.6% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,503 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 3,002 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of Green Plains by 115.2% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,981 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 4,808 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of Green Plains by 2,313.4% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 9,340 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 8,953 shares during the period. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Green Plains in the first quarter worth approximately $49,000.

Green Plains Company Profile

Green Plains Inc produces low-carbon fuels in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Ethanol Production, Agribusiness and Energy Services, and Partnership. The Ethanol Production segment produces ethanol, distillers grains, and ultra-high protein and renewable corn oil.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.