Green Plains Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:GPRE)

Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 5,881 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 451% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,068 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on GPRE. StockNews.com lowered Green Plains from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group lowered shares of Green Plains from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $20.50 to $7.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Green Plains from $13.00 to $8.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $12.00 target price (down previously from $18.00) on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Green Plains from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $10.00 to $4.50 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Green Plains currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $16.50.

Green Plains Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GPRE traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $3.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,107,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,360,511. The company has a market capitalization of $220.08 million, a PE ratio of -2.50 and a beta of 1.20. Green Plains has a fifty-two week low of $3.26 and a fifty-two week high of $22.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $5.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.64.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.86) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.22) by ($0.64). Green Plains had a negative net margin of 3.36% and a negative return on equity of 11.88%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Green Plains will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Green Plains by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 37,479 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,488 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Green Plains by 4.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,596 shares during the last quarter. Diametric Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Diametric Capital LP now owns 22,890 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 2,388 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 28.2% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 11,394 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,503 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Green Plains by 433.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,344 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 2,717 shares during the last quarter.

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.