Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Vale (NYSE:VALE)

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 48,179 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 51% compared to the average daily volume of 31,919 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on VALE. CICC Research started coverage on Vale in a report on Monday, May 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $11.30 price target on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on Vale from $10.50 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen assumed coverage on Vale in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Bank of America raised Vale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $11.50 in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $11.00 price objective (down from $12.00) on shares of Vale in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.04.

Vale Stock Up 4.6%

Shares of Vale stock opened at $9.48 on Friday. Vale has a 1 year low of $8.06 and a 1 year high of $12.05. The company has a market cap of $43.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $9.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.37.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $8.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. Vale had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 17.65%. As a group, analysts expect that Vale will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Vale by 206.4% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,938 shares during the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in Vale in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Vale by 68.3% in the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Vale in the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vale by 193.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 2,713 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Company Profile

Vale SA, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells iron ore and iron ore pellets for use as raw materials in steelmaking in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through Iron Solutions and Energy Transition Materials segments. The Iron Solutions segment produces and extracts iron ore and pellets, manganese, and other ferrous products; and provides related logistic services.