Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Green Plains, Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $10.02, but opened at $11.40. Green Plains shares last traded at $11.5390, with a volume of 643,100 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Green Plains to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer set a $15.00 target price on Green Plains and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. upgraded Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Tudor Pickering upgraded Green Plains from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $10.00.

Green Plains Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.47. The company has a market cap of $755.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.78 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a fifty day moving average of $10.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.52.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.28) by ($0.13). Green Plains had a negative net margin of 6.34% and a negative return on equity of 13.65%. The firm had revenue of $552.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $578.18 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.38) EPS. The company’s revenue was down 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Green Plains, Inc. will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Green Plains news, insider Michelle Mapes sold 30,954 shares of Green Plains stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.51, for a total transaction of $294,372.54. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 60,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $575,906.58. The trade was a 33.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Green Plains

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 192.2% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,547 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 46.5% in the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 5,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,838 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Green Plains by 54.6% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,503 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 3,002 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Green Plains by 115.2% in the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,981 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 4,808 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Green Plains by 2,313.4% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 9,340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 8,953 shares during the last quarter.

About Green Plains

Green Plains Inc produces low-carbon fuels in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Ethanol Production, Agribusiness and Energy Services, and Partnership. The Ethanol Production segment produces ethanol, distillers grains, and ultra-high protein and renewable corn oil.