Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Stock Price Up 5.1% Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) saw a stock price increase of 5.1% after Bank of America upgraded its price target from $7.00 to $9.00, despite maintaining an underperform rating.
• Several analysts have recently upgraded Green Plains' ratings, with Oppenheimer and Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. setting target prices of $14.00, while the consensus target price among analysts is $9.86.
• Insider Michelle Mapes sold over 30,000 shares, indicating a 33.83% decrease in her ownership, amidst varied investor activity including significant position increases by several hedge funds.

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) rose 5.1% during trading on Tuesday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $7.00 to $9.00. Bank of America currently has an underperform rating on the stock. Green Plains traded as high as $10.33 and last traded at $10.47. Approximately 171,534 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 1,919,052 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.96.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on GPRE. Oppenheimer upgraded Green Plains from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $14.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded Green Plains from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $14.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Green Plains to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Green Plains from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $9.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Green Plains

In other Green Plains news, insider Michelle Mapes sold 30,954 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.51, for a total value of $294,372.54. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 60,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $575,906.58. The trade was a 33.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Green Plains

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Green Plains by 192.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,547 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. GatePass Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Green Plains by 69.6% during the 2nd quarter. GatePass Capital LLC now owns 39,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in shares of Green Plains by 1,053.6% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 141,132 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $851,000 after purchasing an additional 155,932 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Green Plains during the 2nd quarter worth about $391,000. Finally, Snowden Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Green Plains by 173.5% during the 2nd quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 49,097 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 31,144 shares during the last quarter.

Green Plains Stock Up 6.0%

The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $692.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.39 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $9.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.74.

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

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.

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