Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Vital Energy shares gapped down before market opening, transitioning from a $18.54 close to a $18.05 opening price, with a recent trading value of $18.32 on increased volume.
• Several analysts downgraded Vital Energy's ratings, with Piper Sandler lowering its price target to $16.00, resulting in an average consensus rating of "Reduce" and a target price of $28.20.
• Insider Richard D. Campbell sold 50,000 shares at an average price of $18.12, indicating a 0.66% decrease in his position, while institutional investors currently hold 86.54% of the company's stock.

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $18.54, but opened at $18.05. Vital Energy shares last traded at $18.32, with a volume of 43,269 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VTLE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "mixed" rating on shares of Vital Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen cut Vital Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Mizuho cut their target price on Vital Energy from $29.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Raymond James Financial cut Vital Energy from an "outperform" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on Vital Energy from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $28.20.

Vital Energy Stock Down 4.2%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $16.97 and a 200 day moving average of $17.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $607.77 million, a P/E ratio of -0.79 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $429.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $481.25 million. Vital Energy had a positive return on equity of 11.86% and a negative net margin of 38.52%.Vital Energy's quarterly revenue was down 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vital Energy, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell sold 50,000 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.12, for a total transaction of $906,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,568,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $137,149,065.96. This trade represents a 0.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Vital Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 27.0% in the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 85,483 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,814,000 after buying an additional 18,171 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 53.1% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,652 shares of the company's stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 5,079 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 2.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,162,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,895,000 after buying an additional 46,300 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 304,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,410,000 after buying an additional 38,537 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 939.7% in the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 261,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,554,000 after buying an additional 236,548 shares during the period. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Vital Energy

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.