Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Shares of Intrepid Potash, Inc (NYSE:IPI) saw strong trading volume on Monday . 421,737 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 91% from the previous session’s volume of 220,552 shares.The stock last traded at $43.53 and had previously closed at $42.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on IPI shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Intrepid Potash in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Intrepid Potash from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Intrepid Potash has a consensus rating of “Sell” and a consensus target price of $25.00.

Intrepid Potash Stock Up 0.2%

The company has a market cap of $549.15 million, a P/E ratio of 48.34 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $33.51 and a 200 day moving average of $29.72.

Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.23. Intrepid Potash had a net margin of 3.75% and a return on equity of 3.93%. The company had revenue of $75.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.25 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Intrepid Potash, Inc will post -0.17 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Intrepid Potash

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of IPI. Summit Global Investments lifted its stake in Intrepid Potash by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 15,574 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Intrepid Potash by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 81,568 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,262,000 after purchasing an additional 7,907 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Intrepid Potash in the 4th quarter valued at about $854,000. Man Group plc bought a new position in shares of Intrepid Potash during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $783,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in shares of Intrepid Potash during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $337,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.13% of the company’s stock.

About Intrepid Potash

Intrepid Potash, Inc is a leading U.S.-based producer and marketer of potash and related specialty fertilizer products. The company’s primary business centers on potassium chloride, a key nutrient used in agricultural applications to enhance crop yield and quality. In addition to potash, Intrepid Potash produces magnesium chloride and sodium chloride, which serve a variety of markets including de-icing, dust control and industrial chemical production.

Intrepid Potash operates through a combination of solution mining, solar evaporation and conventional underground mining techniques.