Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Intrepid Potash shares recently crossed above the 200-day moving average, with a current trading price of $30.87, up from its average of $31.55.
• Analysts have upgraded Intrepid Potash from a "sell" to a "hold" rating, with UBS raising the target price from $21.00 to $24.00.
• Insider trading activity has shown major shareholder Robert P. Jornayvaz III sold 53,035 shares, indicating a significant decrease in his ownership of the company.

Intrepid Potash, Inc (NYSE:IPI - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $31.55 and traded as high as $33.33. Intrepid Potash shares last traded at $30.87, with a volume of 179,385 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on IPI shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Intrepid Potash from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Intrepid Potash from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th.

Intrepid Potash Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $35.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.58. The stock has a market cap of $380.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.83 and a beta of 1.78.

Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $71.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $56.14 million. Intrepid Potash had a negative net margin of 71.13% and a positive return on equity of 1.48%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Intrepid Potash, Inc will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Intrepid Potash news, major shareholder Robert P. Jornayvaz III sold 53,035 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.30, for a total value of $1,819,100.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 3,950 shares of the company's stock, valued at $135,485. This represents a 93.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 76,105 shares of company stock valued at $2,674,074 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Intrepid Potash

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Intrepid Potash by 577.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 152,199 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,336,000 after purchasing an additional 129,722 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Intrepid Potash during the first quarter worth $29,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Intrepid Potash during the first quarter worth $211,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in Intrepid Potash in the fourth quarter valued at $87,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in Intrepid Potash by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 75,974 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,665,000 after acquiring an additional 10,894 shares during the period. 56.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Intrepid Potash

Intrepid Potash, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the extraction and production of the potash in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Potash, Trio, and Oilfield Solutions. The company offers muriate of potash for various markets, such as agricultural market as a fertilizer input; the industrial market as a component in drilling and fracturing fluids for oil and gas wells, as well as an input to other industrial processes; and the animal feed market as a nutrient supplement.