Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF)

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors bought 7,029 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 77% compared to the average volume of 3,971 put options.

YPF Sociedad Anónima Price Performance

NYSE:YPF opened at $23.66 on Wednesday. YPF Sociedad Anónima has a 52 week low of $9.57 and a 52 week high of $24.76. The firm has a market cap of $9.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.10 and a beta of 1.81. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.93.

YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.90. The firm had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.59 billion. YPF Sociedad Anónima had a negative net margin of 4.57% and a positive return on equity of 22.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that YPF Sociedad Anónima will post 5.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On YPF Sociedad Anónima

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ping Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in YPF Sociedad Anónima during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,676,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in YPF Sociedad Anónima by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,168,919 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $23,519,000 after acquiring an additional 168,919 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in YPF Sociedad Anónima by 6,194.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 947,260 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $19,059,000 after acquiring an additional 932,212 shares during the last quarter. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT boosted its holdings in YPF Sociedad Anónima by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Discovery Capital Management LLC CT now owns 745,379 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $14,997,000 after acquiring an additional 48,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fourth Sail Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima in the 1st quarter worth about $14,576,000. 10.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

YPF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima from $22.90 to $25.60 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Bank of America upgraded shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $23.50 to $30.00 in a research report on Friday, August 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of YPF Sociedad Anónima from $18.50 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $24.77.

About YPF Sociedad Anónima

YPF Sociedad Anónima, an energy company, engages in the oil and gas upstream and downstream activities in Argentina. Its upstream operations include the exploration, exploitation, and production of crude oil, and natural gas. The company’s downstream operations include petrochemical production and crude oil refining; transportation and distribution refined and petrochemical products; commercialization of crude oil, petrochemical products, and specialties.