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

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 49,375 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 52% compared to the average volume of 32,531 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on VALE shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Vale from $12.75 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $11.00 price objective (down from $12.00) on shares of Vale in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on Vale in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. CICC Research began coverage on Vale in a research report on Monday, May 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $11.30 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Vale from $10.50 to $9.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vale has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $11.79.

Vale Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of VALE stock opened at $9.69 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $43.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.02, a PEG ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.77. Vale has a 1 year low of $8.06 and a 1 year high of $12.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $9.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.44.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $8.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.39 billion. Vale had a net margin of 15.54% and a return on equity of 17.65%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vale will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VALE. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $228,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Vale by 193.0% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Vale by 20.4% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,954 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 2,707 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Vale by 38.5% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,522 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 6,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Vale by 44.4% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 20,847 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 6,412 shares during the last quarter. 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.