ProFrac (NASDAQ:ACDC) Shares Gap Up After Insider Buying Activity

ProFrac Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:ACDC)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $5.14, but opened at $5.58. ProFrac shares last traded at $5.1960, with a volume of 373,586 shares traded.

Specifically, major shareholder Dan H. Wilks bought 202,331 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $5.44 per share, for a total transaction of $1,100,680.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 87,500,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $476,001,060.80. This trade represents a 0.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Dan H. Wilks bought 517,669 shares of ProFrac stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $4.86 per share, with a total value of $2,515,871.34. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 87,297,864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $424,267,619.04. This represents a 0.60% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In other news, CEO Matthew Wilks purchased 22,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $5.44 per share, with a total value of $122,296.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 502,097 shares in the company, valued at $2,731,407.68. This represents a 4.69% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ACDC. Morgan Stanley set a $5.00 price objective on shares of ProFrac in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of ProFrac from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ProFrac from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of ProFrac in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $5.50.

ProFrac Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $948.56 million, a PE ratio of -2.26 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.90.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ProFrac

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UBS Group AG lifted its position in ProFrac by 1,862.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 705,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,611,000 after acquiring an additional 669,621 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of ProFrac by 61.7% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,638,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,375,000 after purchasing an additional 625,596 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of ProFrac by 27.8% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 1,484,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,494,000 after purchasing an additional 322,860 shares during the period. HRT Financial LP raised its stake in shares of ProFrac by 409.5% in the fourth quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 382,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,489,000 after purchasing an additional 307,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of ProFrac by 328.6% in the first quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 347,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,157,000 after purchasing an additional 266,742 shares during the last quarter. 12.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ProFrac

ProFrac Holding Corp. operates as a technology-focused energy services holding company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Stimulation Services, Manufacturing, and Proppant Production. The company offers hydraulic fracturing, well stimulation, in-basin frac sand, and other completion services and complementary products and services to upstream oil and natural gas companies engaged in the exploration and production of unconventional oil and natural gas resources. It also manufactures and sells high horsepower pumps, valves, piping, swivels, large-bore manifold systems, and fluid ends.