Traders Buy High Volume of Patterson-UTI Energy Put Options (NASDAQ:PTEN)

Key Points

• Unusual bearish options activity: Traders bought 5,771 Patterson-UTI Energy put options, about 109% above the typical daily volume.
• Insiders have been selling: Company directors sold more than 71,000 shares in two recent transactions, while insiders have sold roughly 1.01 million shares worth $11.9 million over the past 90 days.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: The stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $12.15, while shares recently fell to $9.41 from a 52-day average of $10.61.

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTEN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders bought 5,771 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 109% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,759 put options.

Insider Activity at Patterson-UTI Energy

In related news, Director Cesar Jaime sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.29, for a total value of $122,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 77,462 shares in the company, valued at $952,007.98. The trade was a 11.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Wayne Drummond, Jr. sold 61,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.02, for a total value of $738,929.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,128,773 shares in the company, valued at $13,567,851.46. This trade represents a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 1,007,844 shares of company stock valued at $11,922,302 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Patterson-UTI Energy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Patterson-UTI Energy by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 21,211,576 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $229,732,000 after purchasing an additional 2,745,872 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,265,086 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $93,270,000 after buying an additional 75,560 shares during the period. Sourcerock Group LLC increased its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 109.2% during the second quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 13,803,775 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $81,856,000 after buying an additional 7,205,652 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Patterson-UTI Energy by 110.8% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 10,559,219 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $64,517,000 after buying an additional 5,551,276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Patterson-UTI Energy by 11.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,450,347 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $102,347,000 after acquiring an additional 934,766 shares during the period. 97.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Piper Sandler raised Patterson-UTI Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $13.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from $7.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Patterson-UTI Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $12.15.

Patterson-UTI Energy Stock Performance

Shares of PTEN stock traded down $0.79 on Monday, reaching $9.41. The stock had a trading volume of 9,456,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,249,634. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 1.84. Patterson-UTI Energy has a 1 year low of $5.10 and a 1 year high of $13.08. The stock has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.35 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.84.

About Patterson-UTI Energy

Patterson-UTI Energy provides a comprehensive suite of onshore contract drilling and pressure pumping services to exploration and production companies in North America. The company's core offerings include land-based drilling rigs, directional drilling, hydraulic fracturing services, downhole tool rental and well-servicing equipment. By integrating drilling and completion capabilities, Patterson-UTI Energy offers operators a streamlined solution designed to improve operational efficiency and well performance.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Patterson-UTI Energy traces its origins to its founding in 1978 and was later incorporated in Delaware in 1996.

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