Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE:IPI) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE:IPI) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 444,200 shares, a decrease of 9.5% from the March 15th total of 490,800 shares. Currently, 4.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 117,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Intrepid Potash to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th.

Intrepid Potash Stock Performance

IPI traded up $0.44 on Wednesday, reaching $19.48. The company had a trading volume of 39,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 115,837. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.60. The company has a market cap of $258.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.82 and a beta of 2.18. Intrepid Potash has a 52-week low of $17.23 and a 52-week high of $28.30.

Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 6th. The basic materials company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.21) by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $49.04 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.63 million. Intrepid Potash had a negative net margin of 12.78% and a negative return on equity of 0.43%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Intrepid Potash will post -0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intrepid Potash

In other Intrepid Potash news, CEO Robert P. Jornayvaz III sold 63,372 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.43, for a total transaction of $1,294,689.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,542,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,514,316.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Robert P. Jornayvaz III sold 63,372 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.43, for a total value of $1,294,689.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,542,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,514,316.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert P. Jornayvaz III sold 5,384 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.35, for a total transaction of $104,180.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,518,920 shares in the company, valued at $29,391,102. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 96,034 shares of company stock valued at $1,939,525 over the last three months. 18.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intrepid Potash

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Intrepid Potash by 35.4% in the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 341,163 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,584,000 after purchasing an additional 89,125 shares in the last quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Intrepid Potash by 103.1% during the third quarter. Azarias Capital Management L.P. now owns 432,875 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,891,000 after acquiring an additional 219,713 shares during the last quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new position in Intrepid Potash during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,706,000. Swiss National Bank grew its position in Intrepid Potash by 5.6% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 24,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in Intrepid Potash by 33.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 3,677 shares during the last quarter. 56.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Intrepid Potash

Intrepid Potash, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the extraction and production of the potash in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Potash, Trio, and Oilfield Solutions. The company offers muriate of potash for various markets, such as agricultural market as a fertilizer input; the industrial market as a component in drilling and fracturing fluids for oil and gas wells, as well as an input to other industrial processes; and the animal feed market as a nutrient supplement.