Short Interest in BKV Corporation (NYSE:BKV) Expands By 131.9%

Key Points

• BKV Corporation's short interest surged by 131.9% in September, totaling 1,900,000 shares, which represents 11.4% of the company's total shares.
• Insider Lindsay B. Larrick sold 15,000 shares of BKV stock for $348,000, reducing their ownership by 7.84%.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on BKV, with Barclays increasing their target price to $30.00 while Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating.

BKV Corporation (NYSE:BKV - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,900,000 shares, a growth of 131.9% from the September 15th total of 819,200 shares. Currently, 11.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 363,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.2 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 363,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.2 days. Currently, 11.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Transactions at BKV

In other BKV news, insider Lindsay B. Larrick sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.20, for a total value of $348,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 176,341 shares in the company, valued at $4,091,111.20. This represents a 7.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 4.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BKV

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its stake in BKV by 37.9% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 4,246 shares of the company's stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in BKV by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 35,453 shares of the company's stock worth $745,000 after acquiring an additional 6,209 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in BKV by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 376,232 shares of the company's stock worth $9,076,000 after acquiring an additional 45,989 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in BKV during the 1st quarter worth $1,605,000. Finally, Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BKV in the 2nd quarter valued at $8,215,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKV has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upped their target price on BKV from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of BKV in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on BKV from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BKV presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.88.

BKV Price Performance

BKV stock traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $20.28. 472,916 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 506,441. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.30. BKV has a 12 month low of $15.00 and a 12 month high of $26.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $1.72 billion and a PE ratio of -101.39.

BKV (NYSE:BKV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.24. BKV had a positive return on equity of 3.21% and a negative net margin of 2.69%.The firm had revenue of $322.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $224.05 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that BKV will post -1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BKV Company Profile

BKV Corporation engages in the acquisition, operation, and development of natural gas and NGL properties. It is also involved in the gathering, processing, and transportation of natural gas. The company was founded in 2015 and is based in Denver, Colorado with additional offices in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania and Fort Worth, Texas.

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