Traders Purchase High Volume of Sable Offshore Call Options (NYSE:SOC)

Sable Offshore Corp. (NYSE:SOC) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders purchased 49,412 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 264% compared to the typical daily volume of 13,593 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Anthony Duenner sold 39,312 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.56, for a total value of $533,070.72. Following the sale, the insider owned 590,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,012,115.84. This trade represents a 6.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Gregory D. Patrinely sold 39,311 shares of Sable Offshore stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.56, for a total value of $533,057.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 562,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,630,754.40. This represents a 6.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 240,163 shares of company stock worth $3,228,498 in the last three months. 20.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fifth Third Bancorp bought a new stake in Sable Offshore during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sable Offshore in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Sable Offshore by 263.2% in the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 5,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 3,790 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Sable Offshore by 48.7% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Sable Offshore by 36.2% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.19% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Sable Offshore

Here are the key news stories impacting Sable Offshore this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Some traders appear to be betting that the financing gives Sable Offshore more room to manage near-term debt obligations, which helped spark a rebound in the stock. Why Sable Offshore Shares Are Powering Higher Following Financing Update
• Neutral Sentiment: The company priced its offerings of common stock and convertible senior notes, confirming the financing package and the dilution/debt-repayment tradeoff investors are weighing. Sable Offshore Corp. Prices Offerings of Common Stock and Convertible Senior Notes
• Neutral Sentiment: The financing follows a proposed offering announcement and other market coverage focused on the stock’s extreme volatility, including a new 12-month low and unusually high call option activity. Sable Offshore Corp. Announces Proposed Offerings of Common Stock and Convertible Senior Notes
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also reacting to concern that the company may be struggling to repay debt tied to Exxon, while some analysts have turned more cautious on the stock due to the uncertainty. Sable Offshore plunges to all-time low, seen struggling to repay Exxon loan
• Negative Sentiment: The new equity and convertible debt issuance raises dilution concerns, which is a key reason the stock has been under pressure. Sable Offshore sinks on stock, convertible note offerings

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Sable Offshore from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Sable Offshore in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Roth Mkm reduced their price objective on Sable Offshore from $22.00 to $15.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen cut Sable Offshore from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Sable Offshore in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.67.

Sable Offshore Trading Up 41.4%

Shares of NYSE:SOC opened at $4.36 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $672.24 million, a P/E ratio of -1.02 and a beta of -0.07. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $12.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.68. Sable Offshore has a 12-month low of $2.88 and a 12-month high of $32.18.

Sable Offshore (NYSE:SOC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.37) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.52) by ($0.85). The firm had revenue of $1.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.10 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Sable Offshore will post 0.04 EPS for the current year.

About Sable Offshore

Sable Offshore (NYSE:SOC) is an independent upstream oil and natural gas company specializing in offshore hydrocarbon exploration and production. The company identifies and secures exploration and development rights, conducts detailed seismic interpretation, and advances offshore prospects through appraisal and development phases. Its focus on the offshore environment drives investments in specialized drilling techniques, subsea infrastructure and production facility design.

Core business activities include offshore seismic surveys, the drilling of exploration and appraisal wells, installation and operation of production platforms or subsea systems, and well intervention services.