Zacks Research Upgrades YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) to "Strong-Buy"

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded YPF from a "hold" to a "strong-buy" on Monday; other firms are mixed (e.g., Morgan Stanley to overweight, Weiss to sell) and MarketBeat's consensus remains a Moderate Buy with a $41.67 price target.
• YPF reported a hefty quarterly miss (EPS -$1.67 vs. $0.77 expected) and negative net margins, and two vice presidents recently sold >99% of their holdings, reflecting notable insider divestment amid the weak results.

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on YPF. Morgan Stanley upgraded YPF Sociedad Anónima from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded YPF Sociedad Anónima from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded YPF Sociedad Anónima from a "hold (c)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.67.

YPF Sociedad Anónima Trading Up 0.6%

YPF stock opened at $44.13 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $17.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.91 and a beta of 1.30. YPF Sociedad Anónima has a twelve month low of $22.82 and a twelve month high of $48.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $39.45 and a 200-day moving average of $35.35.

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The oil and gas exploration company reported ($1.67) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by ($2.44). The firm had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 million. YPF Sociedad Anónima had a negative return on equity of 0.26% and a negative net margin of 4.48%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that YPF Sociedad Anónima will post 7.25 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at YPF Sociedad Anónima

In related news, VP Marcelo Gustavo Aldeco sold 12,719 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.61, for a total transaction of $554,675.59. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 101 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,404.61. This trade represents a 99.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Mauricio Alejandro Martin sold 3,430 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.60, for a total transaction of $149,548.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 14 shares of the company's stock, valued at $610.40. This trade represents a 99.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On YPF Sociedad Anónima

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 55.7% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,379,408 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $106,282,000 after buying an additional 1,208,440 shares in the last quarter. Ping Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 36.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ping Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,017,000 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $48,993,000 after buying an additional 534,800 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 125.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 651,384 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $15,822,000 after buying an additional 362,155 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 161.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 568,507 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $17,880,000 after buying an additional 350,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima during the 3rd quarter valued at $6,257,000. Institutional investors own 10.08% of the company's stock.

About YPF Sociedad Anónima

YPF Sociedad Anónima NYSE: YPF is an integrated oil and gas company headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The company’s primary businesses encompass upstream exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, midstream transportation and storage, and downstream refining and distribution. YPF operates several major refineries and a nationwide network of service stations, supplying fuels, lubricants, and petrochemical products to both retail and industrial customers.

Founded in 1922 as Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales, YPF was the world’s first state‐owned oil company.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.