Amplify Energy Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:AMPY)

Amplify Energy Corp. (NYSE:AMPY) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders acquired 6,070 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 203% compared to the average volume of 2,003 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AMPY. Alliance Global Partners began coverage on shares of Amplify Energy in a report on Monday, June 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $6.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Amplify Energy in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Amplify Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.50.

Amplify Energy Trading Down 4.4%

Shares of Amplify Energy stock opened at $5.25 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. Amplify Energy has a fifty-two week low of $2.27 and a fifty-two week high of $7.35. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.48. The company has a market cap of $212.47 million, a P/E ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 0.52.

Amplify Energy (NYSE:AMPY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.12). Amplify Energy had a net margin of 5.64% and a return on equity of 6.61%. The business had revenue of $68.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.51 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Amplify Energy will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider James Frew purchased 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $3.70 per share, for a total transaction of $92,500.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 129,222 shares in the company, valued at $478,121.40. This trade represents a 23.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Clint D. Coghill bought 65,494 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $3.89 per share, with a total value of $254,771.66. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,504,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,631,909.83. This trade represents a 1.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 425,000 shares of company stock worth $1,603,845. Company insiders own 10.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMPY. CSM Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Amplify Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,520,000. Truffle Hound Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amplify Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,560,000. RBF Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amplify Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $960,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Amplify Energy by 71.6% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 639,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,388,000 after purchasing an additional 266,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Amplify Energy by 716.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 234,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $750,000 after purchasing an additional 205,606 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.84% of the company’s stock.

Amplify Energy Company Profile

Amplify Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, development, exploitation, and production of oil and natural gas properties in the United States. The company’s properties consist of operated and non-operated working interests in producing and undeveloped leasehold acreage, as well as working interests in identified producing wells located in Oklahoma, the Rockies, federal waters offshore Southern California, East Texas/North Louisiana, and Eagle Ford.