Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $6.10 and traded as high as $7.05. Green Plains shares last traded at $6.88, with a volume of 1,326,173 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GPRE. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Green Plains from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Green Plains from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $14.00 to $6.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Green Plains from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $4.50 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.93.

Green Plains Stock Up 0.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $457.80 million, a PE ratio of -4.14 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $4.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.04.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.88) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.51) by ($0.37). Green Plains had a negative return on equity of 12.76% and a negative net margin of 4.22%. The company had revenue of $601.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $605.62 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.81) EPS. Green Plains's quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Green Plains, Inc. will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Green Plains

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GPRE. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted 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 worth $346,000 after buying an additional 1,596 shares in the last quarter. Diametric Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of Green Plains by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Diametric Capital LP now owns 22,890 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 2,388 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Green Plains by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 11,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,503 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Green Plains by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 16,605 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in 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.

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.