Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Imperial Petroleum (NASDAQ:IMPP)

Imperial Petroleum Inc. (NASDAQ:IMPP) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 7,009 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 370% compared to the average daily volume of 1,491 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on IMPP shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Imperial Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Imperial Petroleum in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Imperial Petroleum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6.00.

Institutional Trading of Imperial Petroleum

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Empirical Finance LLC acquired a new position in Imperial Petroleum in the 2nd quarter worth about $47,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Imperial Petroleum in the third quarter worth approximately $755,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Imperial Petroleum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $498,000. Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Imperial Petroleum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $916,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC bought a new stake in Imperial Petroleum in the fourth quarter worth approximately $708,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.44% of the company’s stock.

Imperial Petroleum Trading Up 2.0%

NASDAQ:IMPP traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $4.34. The company had a trading volume of 1,854,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 659,015. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $4.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 1.25. Imperial Petroleum has a 1 year low of $2.12 and a 1 year high of $6.57.

Imperial Petroleum (NASDAQ:IMPP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $41.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.20 million. Imperial Petroleum had a return on equity of 13.60% and a net margin of 28.61%.

Imperial Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, February 9th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Imperial Petroleum Company Profile

Imperial Petroleum Inc provides international seaborne transportation services to oil producers, refineries, and commodities traders. It carries refined petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, and jet fuel, as well as edible oils and chemicals, crude oils, iron ore, coal and grains, and minor bulks, such as bauxite, phosphate, and fertilizers. As of April 1, 2024, the company owned and operated a fleet of six medium range refined petroleum product tankers; one Aframax tanker; two suezmax tankers; and two handysize drybulk carriers with a total capacity of 791,000 deadweight tons.