Traders Purchase Large Volume of YPF Sociedad Anónima Call Options (NYSE:YPF)

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders purchased 24,402 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 291% compared to the typical daily volume of 6,243 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on YPF. UBS Group upped their price objective on YPF Sociedad Anónima from $37.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded YPF Sociedad Anónima from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, YPF Sociedad Anónima currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.67.

YPF Sociedad Anónima Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE YPF traded up $3.76 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $47.42. 5,811,135 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,104,959. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.60 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.94. YPF Sociedad Anónima has a 52 week low of $22.82 and a 52 week high of $48.96. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.49.

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.20. YPF Sociedad Anónima had a positive return on equity of 1.11% and a negative net margin of 2.16%.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 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at YPF Sociedad Anónima

In other YPF Sociedad Anónima news, VP Mauricio Alejandro Martin sold 3,430 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.60, for a total value of $149,548.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 14 shares in the company, valued at $610.40. This represents a 99.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Marcelo Gustavo Aldeco sold 12,719 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.61, for a total value of $554,675.59. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 101 shares in the company, valued at $4,404.61. This represents a 99.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On YPF Sociedad Anónima

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in YPF Sociedad Anónima by 31.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,556 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 1,796 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. bought a new position in YPF Sociedad Anónima during the 1st quarter worth $661,000. Modern Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in YPF Sociedad Anónima during the 1st quarter worth $424,000. Barometer Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in YPF Sociedad Anónima during the 1st quarter worth $3,471,000. Finally, Himension Capital Singapore PTE. LTD. bought a new position in YPF Sociedad Anónima during the 1st quarter worth $3,216,000. Institutional investors own 10.08% of the company’s stock.

About YPF Sociedad Anónima

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.