Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE)

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 7,915 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 302% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,971 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Vital Energy from $23.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Vital Energy from $34.00 to $23.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Siebert Williams Shank lowered Vital Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $62.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Vital Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on Vital Energy from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $30.36.

Vital Energy Trading Up 3.9%

Shares of NYSE:VTLE traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $17.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,039,674 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,096,159. The firm has a market cap of $663.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.61 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Vital Energy has a 1 year low of $12.30 and a 1 year high of $47.80. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $15.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.72.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $512.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $528.76 million. Vital Energy had a positive return on equity of 9.48% and a negative net margin of 8.89%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Vital Energy will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total transaction of $207,300.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 97,556 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,022,335.88. This trade represents a 9.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell bought 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $17.75 per share, for a total transaction of $88,750.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 43,072 shares in the company, valued at $764,528. This trade represents a 13.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,647 shares of company stock valued at $448,742. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTLE. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in Vital Energy by 805.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 915 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 814 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Vital Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Vital Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. purchased a new stake in Vital Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $96,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in Vital Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $123,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.54% of the company's stock.

Vital Energy Company Profile

Vital Energy, Inc, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and natural gas properties in the Permian Basin of West Texas, the United States. The company was formerly known as Laredo Petroleum, Inc and changed its name to Vital Energy, Inc in January 2023.