Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on YPF Sociedad Anonima (NYSE:YPF)

YPF Sociedad Anonima (NYSE:YPF) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 21,357 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 298% compared to the average daily volume of 5,367 call options.

YPF Sociedad Anonima Stock Performance

YPF Sociedad Anonima stock opened at $36.35 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.81 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $36.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.25. YPF Sociedad Anonima has a 52-week low of $22.82 and a 52-week high of $40.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Institutional Trading of YPF Sociedad Anonima

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of YPF Sociedad Anonima by 194.9% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,898,315 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $154,052,000 after acquiring an additional 3,237,154 shares during the last quarter. VR Advisory Services Ltd increased its holdings in YPF Sociedad Anonima by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. VR Advisory Services Ltd now owns 3,605,533 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $87,578,000 after purchasing an additional 200,000 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in YPF Sociedad Anonima by 55.7% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,379,408 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $106,282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208,440 shares during the last quarter. Ping Capital Management Inc. raised its position in YPF Sociedad Anonima by 36.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ping Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,017,000 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $48,993,000 after purchasing an additional 534,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, North of South Capital LLP boosted its stake in YPF Sociedad Anonima by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. North of South Capital LLP now owns 1,670,378 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $60,401,000 after purchasing an additional 50,395 shares in the last quarter. 10.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on YPF. Zacks Research upgraded YPF Sociedad Anonima from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of YPF Sociedad Anonima from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, February 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of YPF Sociedad Anonima in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, YPF Sociedad Anonima has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.67.

About YPF Sociedad Anonima

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE: YPF) is an integrated oil and gas company headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The company’s primary businesses encompass upstream exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, midstream transportation and storage, and downstream refining and distribution. YPF operates several major refineries and a nationwide network of service stations, supplying fuels, lubricants, and petrochemical products to both retail and industrial customers.

Founded in 1922 as Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales, YPF was the world’s first state‐owned oil company.