Amprius Technologies Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:AMPX)

Key Points

• Amprius Technologies experienced a significant surge in options trading, with traders buying 10,882 call options, marking a 157% increase from the average volume.
• The company's stock price rose 6.2% on Friday, closing at $8.20, with over 10 million shares exchanged, well above its average trading volume.
• Several research firms issued positive reports on AMPX, with target price upgrades, including Roth Capital raising their price target to $10.00 and HC Wainwright to $18.00.

Amprius Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:AMPX - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders purchased 10,882 call options on the company. Thisrepresentsanincreaseof157% compared to the typical volume of 4,235 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMPX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Amprius Technologies from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. William Blair raised shares of Amprius Technologies from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. B. Riley boosted their target price on shares of Amprius Technologies from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $18.00 price objective (up previously from $10.00) on shares of Amprius Technologies in a research note on Friday. Finally, Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating and set a $10.00 target price (up previously from $6.00) on shares of Amprius Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $11.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kang Sun sold 69,786 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.43, for a total transaction of $169,579.98. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,812,235 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,403,731.05. This represents a 3.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CTO Constantin Ionel Stefan sold 20,366 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.43, for a total transaction of $49,489.38. Following the sale, the chief technology officer directly owned 866,134 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,104,705.62. This trade represents a 2.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 117,747 shares of company stock worth $286,125. Company insiders own 12.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Amprius Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $68,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amprius Technologies by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 580,819 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,626,000 after buying an additional 32,681 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Amprius Technologies by 56.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,484,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,957,000 after purchasing an additional 897,222 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Amprius Technologies by 5,740.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 765,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,142,000 after buying an additional 752,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Amprius Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $99,000. Institutional investors own 5.04% of the company's stock.

Amprius Technologies Stock Down 1.8%

Amprius Technologies stock traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $7.91. The stock had a trading volume of 7,771,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,043,777. Amprius Technologies has a 52-week low of $0.61 and a 52-week high of $9.66. The firm has a market cap of $933.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.74 and a beta of 2.72. The company has a fifty day moving average of $5.52 and a 200 day moving average of $3.66.

Amprius Technologies (NYSE:AMPX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.03. Amprius Technologies had a negative net margin of 84.77% and a negative return on equity of 55.79%. The business had revenue of $15.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.38 million. Equities research analysts predict that Amprius Technologies will post -0.45 EPS for the current year.

About Amprius Technologies

Amprius Technologies, Inc produces and sells ultra-high energy density lithium-ion batteries for mobility applications. The company offers silicon nanowire anode batteries. Its batteries are primarily used for existing and emerging aviation applications, including unmanned aerial systems, such as drones and high-altitude pseudo satellites.