Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Par Pacific shares opened higher, rising from a prior close of $83.13 to $85.30 before trading at approximately $82.55.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: the stock has a consensus “Buy” rating, supported by recent upgrades and an average price target of $81.57.
• Par Pacific reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $10.10 versus an $8.22 estimate and revenue up 56.8% year over year; however, company insiders recently sold shares while institutional investors own 92.15% of the stock.

Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PARR - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $83.13, but opened at $85.30. Par Pacific shares last traded at $82.5520, with a volume of 47,366 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PARR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Par Pacific from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Par Pacific to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Mizuho upped their price target on Par Pacific from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Par Pacific from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Par Pacific in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Par Pacific currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $81.57.

Par Pacific Stock Up 1.7%

The company has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $75.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.68.

Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $10.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.22 by $1.88. Par Pacific had a return on equity of 56.19% and a net margin of 9.94%.The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.54 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 56.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. will post 21.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Par Pacific news, insider Danielle Mattiussi sold 3,278 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.29, for a total transaction of $220,576.62. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 27,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,875,910.62. This trade represents a 10.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William Monteleone sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.30, for a total transaction of $3,252,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 457,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,167,677.10. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Par Pacific by 5,095.4% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,120,123 shares of the company's stock worth $174,976,000 after acquiring an additional 3,060,068 shares during the period. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Par Pacific in the first quarter valued at $28,839,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Par Pacific during the 2nd quarter worth about $19,353,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in Par Pacific by 810.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 359,834 shares of the company's stock worth $12,645,000 after purchasing an additional 320,326 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Par Pacific by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,756,161 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,203,000 after buying an additional 317,484 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.15% of the company's stock.

Par Pacific Company Profile

Par Pacific Holdings, Inc NYSE: PARR is a diversified downstream energy company engaged in the refining, marketing and logistics of petroleum products. Through its subsidiaries, Par Pacific operates the Par Hawaii Refinery on the island of Oʻahu, which processes crude oil into transportation fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as asphalt, petroleum coke and sulfur. In the Rocky Mountain region, the company owns and operates the Salt Lake City Refinery in Utah and associated logistics infrastructure, including pipelines and storage terminals, to support both crude supply and product distribution.

In marketing its refined products, Par Pacific maintains a network of branded and unbranded wholesale accounts across Hawaii and the U.S.

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