Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR)

Key Points

• Investors purchased 136,877 put options on Petrobras on Tuesday, about 122% above the typical daily volume of 61,650.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: the stock has an average “Buy” rating and a $20.97 average price target, despite shares falling 0.6% to $18.23 on Tuesday.
• Several institutional investors increased or initiated positions in Petrobras, including Artemis Investment Management and RWC Asset Advisors.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (NYSE:PBR - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 136,877 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 122% compared to the typical daily volume of 61,650 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PBR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Zacks Research raised Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $20.97.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:PBR traded down $0.12 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $18.23. The stock had a trading volume of 16,305,191 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,269,711. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $22.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $117.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.61, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 0.33. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras has a fifty-two week low of $11.43 and a fifty-two week high of $26.39.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 6,643,028 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $138,640,000 after buying an additional 270,422 shares during the period. Oaktree Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the first quarter worth approximately $126,355,000. RWC Asset Advisors US LLC increased its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras by 17.7% in the third quarter. RWC Asset Advisors US LLC now owns 4,409,205 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $92,020,000 after buying an additional 662,712 shares during the last quarter. Carrhae Capital LLP acquired a new stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras in the second quarter valued at $87,456,000. Finally, DJE Kapital AG bought a new position in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras during the 1st quarter valued at $65,428,000.

About Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras

Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., known as Petrobras, is an integrated energy company headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Founded in 1953, it is controlled by the Brazilian government and has publicly traded shares, including American depositary shares listed in the United States. Petrobras's core business is exploring for and producing oil and natural gas, with a significant focus on offshore and deepwater fields, including Brazil's pre-salt basins. The company also operates in refining, transportation, and the sale of oil, fuels, natural gas, and related energy products.

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