Short Interest in Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) Rises By 10.2%

Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) was the target of a large increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,720,000 shares, an increase of 10.2% from the March 31st total of 6,100,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,150,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Monday, March 25th. TheStreet lowered shares of Green Plains from a “c-” rating to a “d+” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Green Plains from $33.50 to $31.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Green Plains from $39.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Green Plains in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Green Plains presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.40.

Green Plains Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of GPRE stock traded down $0.33 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $20.34. 290,030 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,187,048. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.76 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $21.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.60. Green Plains has a 52-week low of $19.44 and a 52-week high of $36.02.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $712.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $782.01 million. Green Plains had a negative net margin of 2.83% and a negative return on equity of 9.67%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.66) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Green Plains will post 0.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Green Plains

In other news, Director Ejnar A. Knudsen III bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $24.73 per share, with a total value of $98,920.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 40,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,011,778.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Green Plains

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Green Plains by 50.4% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,546 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 853 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the fourth quarter worth $88,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the third quarter worth $164,000. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Green Plains during the fourth quarter worth $196,000.

About Green Plains

Green Plains Inc produces low-carbon fuels in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Ethanol Production, Agribusiness and Energy Services, and Partnership. The Ethanol Production segment produces ethanol, distillers grains, and ultra-high protein and renewable corn oil.