CVR Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CVI) Short Interest Up 19.6% in May

CVR Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CVI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,760,000 shares, an increase 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 days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.4 days. Approximately 15.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn acquired 7,907 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were purchased 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 owns 70,418,471 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,282,320,356.91. This trade represents a 0.01% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 1,233,262 shares of company stock valued at $21,335,380. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVR Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in CVR Energy by 65.5% in the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,633 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in CVR Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 731 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in CVR Energy by 1,030.2% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,944 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,772 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of CVR Energy by 106.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,159 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.88% of the company's stock.

CVR Energy Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:CVI traded up $0.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $23.52. The stock had a trading volume of 581,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,235,536. CVR Energy has a one year low of $15.10 and a one year high of $29.84. The company has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 392.12 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $20.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.69.

CVR Energy (NYSE:CVI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. CVR Energy had a net margin of 0.09% and a negative return on equity of 5.12%. CVR Energy's revenue for the quarter was down 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.04 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that CVR Energy will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal 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.