Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) Trading 6.5% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Intrepid Potash, Inc (NYSE:IPI) was up 6.5% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $45.49 and last traded at $44.8350. Approximately 72,661 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 311,398 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IPI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Intrepid Potash in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Intrepid Potash from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Intrepid Potash currently has a consensus rating of “Sell” and an average target price of $25.00.

Intrepid Potash Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $586.29 million, a PE ratio of 51.58 and a beta of 1.53. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.17.

Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.23. Intrepid Potash had a return on equity of 3.93% and a net margin of 3.75%.The business had revenue of $75.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.25 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Intrepid Potash, Inc will post -0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intrepid Potash

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IPI. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intrepid Potash in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $371,000. Summit Global Investments raised its position in shares of Intrepid Potash by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 15,574 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Intrepid Potash by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 81,568 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,262,000 after buying an additional 7,907 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Intrepid Potash in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $854,000. Finally, Man Group plc acquired a new stake in Intrepid Potash during the 4th quarter valued at $783,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.13% of the company’s stock.

About Intrepid Potash

Intrepid Potash, Inc is a leading U.S.-based producer and marketer of potash and related specialty fertilizer products. The company’s primary business centers on potassium chloride, a key nutrient used in agricultural applications to enhance crop yield and quality. In addition to potash, Intrepid Potash produces magnesium chloride and sodium chloride, which serve a variety of markets including de-icing, dust control and industrial chemical production.

Intrepid Potash operates through a combination of solution mining, solar evaporation and conventional underground mining techniques.