Energy Recovery Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:ERII)

Energy Recovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERII) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 10,010 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 2,870% compared to the average volume of 337 put options.

Energy Recovery Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ERII traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $8.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 322,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 816,935. Energy Recovery has a 12-month low of $7.83 and a 12-month high of $18.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $9.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $416.44 million, a P/E ratio of 21.28 and a beta of 0.94.

Energy Recovery (NASDAQ:ERII) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.13). Energy Recovery had a return on equity of 10.89% and a net margin of 15.07%.The business had revenue of $9.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.37 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Energy Recovery will post -0.17 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ERII shares. Loop Capital set a $13.00 target price on Energy Recovery in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and issued a $12.00 target price on shares of Energy Recovery in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Energy Recovery from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Energy Recovery from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Freedom Capital downgraded Energy Recovery from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.00.

Insider Transactions at Energy Recovery

In other news, Director Pamela L. Tondreau bought 20,000 shares of Energy Recovery stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $8.34 per share, for a total transaction of $166,800.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 37,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $311,599.08. This represents a 115.19% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arve Hanstveit sold 165,292 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.14, for a total value of $1,676,060.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 384,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,903,169.92. The trade was a 30.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Energy Recovery

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new stake in Energy Recovery during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Energy Recovery by 2,581.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,931 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,859 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Recovery in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Group One Trading LLC purchased a new stake in Energy Recovery in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Comerica Bank raised its position in shares of Energy Recovery by 150.5% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 3,868 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 2,324 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.58% of the company’s stock.

Energy Recovery Company Profile

Energy Recovery, Inc (NASDAQ: ERII) is an energy technology company specializing in the design and manufacture of high-efficiency devices that capture and repurpose energy in fluid-handling applications. The company’s core offering, the Pressure Exchanger® (PX®) device, enables seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plants to recover and reuse hydraulic energy that would otherwise be lost during brine discharge. By integrating PX technology into desalination processes, Energy Recovery helps operators significantly reduce the energy consumption and operating costs of producing fresh water from seawater or brackish sources.

In addition to desalination solutions, Energy Recovery has expanded its portfolio to serve the oil and gas sector through turbocharger systems that improve the energy efficiency of hydraulic fracturing operations.