Investors Purchase High Volume of Vale Call Options (NYSE:VALE)

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 81,057 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 64% compared to the typical volume of 49,517 call options.

Institutional Trading of Vale

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VALE. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Vale during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Systematic Alpha Investments LLC bought a new position in Vale in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in Vale by 423.1% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,951 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,578 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Vale in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Vale in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on VALE shares. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Vale in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Vale from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Vale in a research note on Saturday, March 30th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Vale from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.67.

Vale Trading Down 1.2 %

Vale stock traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $11.40. 19,304,094 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,865,178. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $12.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.29, a P/E/G ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 0.98. Vale has a 52-week low of $11.36 and a 52-week high of $16.08.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.03). Vale had a net margin of 18.72% and a return on equity of 19.59%. The company had revenue of $8.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.35 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Vale will post 2.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vale Company Profile

Vale SA, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells iron ore and iron ore pellets for use as raw materials in steelmaking in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through Iron Solutions and Energy Transition Materials segments. The Iron Solutions segment produces and extracts iron ore and pellets, manganese, and other ferrous products; and provides related logistic services.