Short Interest in CVR Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CVI) Expands By 19.6%

CVR Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CVI - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,760,000 shares, a growth of 19.6% from the April 30th total of 3,980,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,090,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.4 days. Approximately 15.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CVI shares. Scotiabank reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of CVR Energy in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen cut CVR Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Mizuho lifted their target price on CVR Energy from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on CVR Energy from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CVR Energy presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $23.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CVR Energy news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn acquired 7,907 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $18.21 per share, for a total transaction of $143,986.47. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 70,418,471 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,282,320,356.91. This trade represents a 0.01% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 1,309,530 shares of company stock valued at $22,723,458. Corporate insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of CVR Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of CVR Energy by 65.5% during the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,633 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of CVR Energy by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,443 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $364,000 after acquiring an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in CVR Energy by 55.3% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,052 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its stake in CVR Energy by 2.5% during the first quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 31,707 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $615,000 after buying an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in CVR Energy by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 60,282 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,130,000 after buying an additional 1,035 shares in the last quarter. 98.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVR Energy Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE CVI traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $23.40. 880,672 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,234,900. CVR Energy has a 52-week low of $15.10 and a 52-week high of $29.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of 390.07 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.66. The business's fifty day moving average price is $20.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.62.

CVR Energy (NYSE:CVI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.58) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.90) by $0.32. CVR Energy had a negative return on equity of 5.12% and a net margin of 0.09%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.04 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that CVR Energy will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

About CVR Energy

CVR Energy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the petroleum refining and marketing, and nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing activities in the United States. It operates in two segments, Petroleum and Nitrogen Fertilizer. The Petroleum segment refines and supplies gasoline, crude oil, distillate, diesel fuel, and other refined products.

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