Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Vital Energy Call Options (NYSE:VTLE)

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 7,208 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 341% compared to the average daily volume of 1,634 call options.

Vital Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VTLE traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $18.17. The stock had a trading volume of 1,881,687 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,078,108. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.35 and a 200-day moving average of $26.29. The firm has a market cap of $703.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.83 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Vital Energy has a fifty-two week low of $12.30 and a fifty-two week high of $51.71.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $512.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $528.76 million. Vital Energy had a negative net margin of 8.89% and a positive return on equity of 9.48%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Vital Energy will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vital Energy

In other Vital Energy news, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell bought 5,000 shares of Vital Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.75 per share, for a total transaction of $88,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at $764,528. This trade represents a 13.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Mark David Denny sold 5,974 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total value of $123,841.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,494 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $880,900.62. This represents a 12.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,647 shares of company stock valued at $448,742. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VTLE. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Energy during the first quarter worth about $282,000. Jump Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Vital Energy by 939.7% during the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 261,721 shares of the company's stock worth $5,554,000 after purchasing an additional 236,548 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Energy by 4.0% during the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 502,740 shares of the company's stock worth $10,668,000 after purchasing an additional 19,480 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in Vital Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $1,161,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Vital Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $348,000. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VTLE shares. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Vital Energy from $33.00 to $27.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Vital Energy from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Siebert Williams Shank lowered Vital Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $62.00 to $27.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup downgraded Vital Energy to a "reduce" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on Vital Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Three 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.36.

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.