Stock Traders Buy High Volume of YPF Sociedad Anónima Call Options (NYSE:YPF)

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 30,151 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 700% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,771 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. UBS Group lifted their target price on YPF Sociedad Anónima from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima from $61.50 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. HSBC upgraded shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, YPF Sociedad Anónima has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.33.

YPF Sociedad Anónima Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of YPF opened at $55.52 on Friday. YPF Sociedad Anónima has a 1 year low of $22.82 and a 1 year high of $57.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.81. The firm has a market cap of $21.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.22 and a beta of 1.25.

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.26 by $0.81. YPF Sociedad Anónima had a net margin of 3.60% and a return on equity of 10.86%. The firm had revenue of $6.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.99 billion. On average, analysts forecast that YPF Sociedad Anónima will post 7.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other YPF Sociedad Anónima news, CEO Horacio Daniel Marin purchased 2,840 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $46.35 per share, for a total transaction of $131,634.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 92,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,273,145.55. The trade was a 3.18% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Matias Osvaldo Farina acquired 8,875 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $45.22 per share, for a total transaction of $401,327.50. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 55,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,518,166.14. The trade was a 18.96% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On YPF Sociedad Anónima

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of YPF. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in YPF Sociedad Anónima in the 1st quarter worth approximately $561,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 26.0% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,087 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 3,733 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 17.3% in the second quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 58,919 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $2,000,000 after purchasing an additional 8,711 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 161.2% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 568,507 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $17,880,000 after buying an additional 350,842 shares during the period. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima by 5.2% in the second quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 317,889 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $10,525,000 after buying an additional 15,760 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 10.08% of the company’s stock.

YPF Sociedad Anónima Company Profile

YPF Sociedad Anónima is an Argentine integrated energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas. The company operates across Argentina, including the Vaca Muerta formation in the Neuquén Basin, one of the country’s most important unconventional hydrocarbon regions.

YPF’s downstream operations include refining crude oil, marketing fuels and lubricants, producing petrochemicals, and distributing petroleum products through a network of service stations and commercial channels.