Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Stock Price Up 12.5% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Green Plains, Inc. shares experienced a notable increase of 12.5%, reaching a price of $10.81 after closing at $9.61.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with Oppenheimer upgrading it to an "outperform" rating with a $14.00 target, while Bank of America has set a lower target of $7.00.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of ($0.41) EPS, missing estimates, alongside a revenue drop of 10.7% year-over-year.

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 12.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $11.13 and last traded at $10.81. 1,009,530 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average session volume of 1,892,379 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.61.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer upgraded Green Plains from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $14.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of Green Plains to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $7.00 price target (up from $4.50) on shares of Green Plains in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $8.83.

Green Plains Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $614.39 million, a PE ratio of -3.90 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $9.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.27.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.28) by ($0.13). Green Plains had a negative net margin of 6.34% and a negative return on equity of 13.65%. The business had revenue of $552.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $578.18 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.38) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Green Plains, Inc. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Green Plains

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of GPRE. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Green Plains by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 65,607 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 23,946 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Green Plains by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 36,491 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 1,596 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Green Plains by 54.0% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 234,548 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,224,000 after buying an additional 82,235 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc acquired a new position in shares of Green Plains during the 4th quarter worth about $203,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Green Plains in the 4th quarter valued at about $119,000.

About Green Plains

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.