Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Vital Energy Call Options (NYSE:VTLE)

Vital Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTLE) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors purchased 7,208 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 341% compared to the average volume of 1,634 call options.

Vital Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTLE traded up $1.40 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $17.45. 449,276 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,064,742. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $17.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.48. The stock has a market cap of $675.20 million, a P/E ratio of -3.67 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Vital Energy has a twelve month low of $12.30 and a twelve month high of $51.71.

Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.27. Vital Energy had a positive return on equity of 9.48% and a negative net margin of 8.89%. The firm had revenue of $534.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $550.90 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Vital Energy will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup lowered Vital Energy to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Williams Trading set a $27.00 target price on Vital Energy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James dropped their target price on Vital Energy from $44.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Vital Energy from $36.00 to $24.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on Vital Energy from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Energy

In other Vital Energy news, CFO Bryan Lemmerman sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.73, for a total value of $207,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 97,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,022,335.88. This trade represents a 9.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Richard D. Campbell bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.75 per share, with a total value of $88,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $764,528. This trade represents a 13.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,647 shares of company stock worth $448,742 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vital Energy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Vital Energy by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 55,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,178,000 after purchasing an additional 10,400 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Vital Energy by 16.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 588,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,492,000 after buying an additional 83,788 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Vital Energy by 2.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,162,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,895,000 after buying an additional 46,300 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in Vital Energy by 48.3% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 3,284,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,699,000 after buying an additional 1,070,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Vital Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $502,000. 86.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Vital Energy

Vital Energy, Inc, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and natural gas properties in the Permian Basin of West Texas, the United States. The company was formerly known as Laredo Petroleum, Inc and changed its name to Vital Energy, Inc in January 2023.