Investors Purchase High Volume of Put Options on HighPeak Energy (NASDAQ:HPK)

Key Points

• Massive put buying: Traders purchased 22,782 put options on HPK—an increase of about 2,878% versus the average daily put volume—signaling a large surge in bearish bets on the stock.
• Sharp share drop: HPK fell ~19.8% to $4.96 on the day with ~665,663 shares traded, reflecting heavy selling pressure versus its average volume.
• Mixed fundamentals and outlook: Q1 EPS of ($0.02) matched estimates but revenue was down 20.7% YoY to $215.9M; analysts have a mixed set of ratings and a consensus price target around $12, while sell-side expectations call for roughly -$0.34 EPS for the fiscal year.

HighPeak Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:HPK - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 22,782 put options on the company. This is an increase of 2,878% compared to the average daily volume of 765 put options.

HighPeak Energy Stock Down 19.8%

Shares of HPK stock traded down $1.22 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $4.96. The company had a trading volume of 665,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 982,623. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.13. HighPeak Energy has a twelve month low of $3.85 and a twelve month high of $12.00. The company has a market capitalization of $626.37 million, a P/E ratio of 55.06 and a beta of 0.34. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $6.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.62.

HighPeak Energy (NASDAQ:HPK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.02). HighPeak Energy had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 2.11%. The firm had revenue of $215.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $210.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that HighPeak Energy will post -0.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on HPK. Wall Street Zen upgraded HighPeak Energy from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research lowered HighPeak Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $12.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HPK. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in HighPeak Energy by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 186,174 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,357,000 after purchasing an additional 3,431 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in HighPeak Energy by 79.6% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 20,368 shares of the company's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 9,029 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in HighPeak Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $60,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in HighPeak Energy by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 640,028 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,273,000 after purchasing an additional 70,590 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning acquired a new position in HighPeak Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $225,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.13% of the company's stock.

About HighPeak Energy

HighPeak Energy, Inc NASDAQ: HPK is a Delaware‐incorporated independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. The firm focuses on the acquisition, development and exploitation of onshore petroleum assets in the continental United States. Its operations encompass the full upstream value chain, including exploration, drilling, completion and production activities aimed at maximizing hydrocarbon recovery and operational efficiency.

The company’s primary business activities include identifying and acquiring conventional and unconventional oil and gas properties, applying advanced drilling and completion technologies, and managing midstream logistics to optimize product flow.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.