CVR Energy Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:CVI)

CVR Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CVI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 3,114 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 222% compared to the typical daily volume of 967 call options.

CVR Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVI traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $23.99. The company had a trading volume of 319,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,030,930. The stock has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 399.87 and a beta of 1.02. The company's 50 day moving average price is $19.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15. CVR Energy has a 52-week low of $15.10 and a 52-week high of $30.17.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CVR Energy news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn bought 206,571 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.79 per share, for a total transaction of $3,674,898.09. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 67,780,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,205,819,969.46. The trade was a 0.31% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 1,641,760 shares of company stock worth $28,641,557. Insiders own 0.01% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of CVR Energy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of CVR Energy by 65.5% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,633 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in CVR Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in CVR Energy by 1,030.2% in the 1st 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. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in CVR Energy by 55.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in CVR Energy by 106.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,159 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. 98.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.