Traders Buy Large Volume of Par Pacific Call Options (NYSE:PARR)

Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PARR - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 3,222 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 4,254% compared to the typical volume of 74 call options.

Par Pacific Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of Par Pacific stock traded up $0.50 during trading on Thursday, hitting $20.16. 230,724 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,119,317. The stock has a market cap of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $15.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.87. Par Pacific has a twelve month low of $11.86 and a twelve month high of $28.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.69.

Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.94) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.40) by ($0.54). Par Pacific had a return on equity of 10.06% and a net margin of 3.74%. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Par Pacific will post 0.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Par Pacific

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Par Pacific during the 1st quarter valued at about $12,750,000. Solas Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Par Pacific by 417.7% during the fourth quarter. Solas Capital Management LLC now owns 795,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,030,000 after purchasing an additional 641,423 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Par Pacific by 43.4% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,936,798 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,744,000 after purchasing an additional 586,003 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP bought a new position in shares of Par Pacific in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,293,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Par Pacific by 365.4% in the first quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 424,549 shares of the company's stock worth $6,054,000 after buying an additional 333,319 shares during the last quarter. 92.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on PARR. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Par Pacific from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $19.00 in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Mizuho raised their target price on Par Pacific from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Par Pacific from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. StockNews.com lowered Par Pacific from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on Par Pacific from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.25.

About Par Pacific

Par Pacific Holdings, Inc owns and operates energy and infrastructure businesses. The company operates through Refining, Retail, and Logistics segments. The Refining segment owns and operates refineries that produce gasoline, distillate, asphalt, and other products primarily for consumption in Kapolei, Hawaii, Newcastle, Wyoming, Tacoma, Washington, and Billings, Montana.

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