Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF)

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 24,402 call options on the company. This is an increase of 291% compared to the typical daily volume of 6,243 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on YPF shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima from $37.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.50.

YPF Sociedad Anónima Stock Performance

NYSE YPF opened at $47.42 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $42.51 and its 200-day moving average is $38.58. YPF Sociedad Anónima has a 12-month low of $22.82 and a 12-month high of $48.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $18.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.60 and a beta of 1.21.

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.20. YPF Sociedad Anónima had a negative net margin of 2.16% and a positive return on equity of 1.11%. The company had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.04 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that YPF Sociedad Anónima will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other YPF Sociedad Anónima news, VP Marcelo Gustavo Aldeco sold 12,719 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.61, for a total value of $554,675.59. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 101 shares in the company, valued at $4,404.61. The trade was a 99.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Mauricio Alejandro Martin sold 3,430 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.60, for a total transaction of $149,548.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 14 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610.40. The trade was a 99.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information.

Institutional Trading of YPF Sociedad Anónima

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 488.3% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares during the period. Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 58.8% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 2,598 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 10.08% of the company’s stock.

YPF Sociedad Anónima Company Profile

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.