Contango ORE (NYSEAMERICAN:CTGO) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Contango ORE, Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:CTGO)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $16.51, but opened at $18.05. Contango ORE shares last traded at $18.1850, with a volume of 103,262 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CTGO shares. Zacks Research raised Contango ORE to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on Contango ORE in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $32.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Contango ORE presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.50.

Contango ORE Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average of $21.53 and a 200 day moving average of $24.70. The company has a market capitalization of $561.10 million, a P/E ratio of -9.43 and a beta of -0.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Contango ORE (NYSEAMERICAN:CTGO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.99). On average, sell-side analysts predict that Contango ORE, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Contango ORE

In other Contango ORE news, CEO Nieuwenhuyse Rick Van sold 21,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.92, for a total transaction of $387,448.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 517,140 shares in the company, valued at $9,267,148.80. This represents a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP David Gregory Larimer sold 2,775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.92, for a total value of $49,728.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 12,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $229,250.56. This trade represents a 17.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 34,471 shares of company stock worth $617,720 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Contango ORE

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in Contango ORE in the third quarter worth about $36,772,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Contango ORE by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 759,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,064,000 after buying an additional 33,359 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Contango ORE by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 403,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,646,000 after buying an additional 60,917 shares during the period. Glazer Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Contango ORE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,453,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Contango ORE by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 258,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,831,000 after acquiring an additional 49,947 shares during the last quarter. 19.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Contango ORE

Contango ORE Royalty Trust (NYSE American: CTGO) is a grantor royalty trust that holds net overriding royalty interests in oil and gas properties. As a non‐operating entity, the trust itself does not engage in exploration, drilling or production activities but instead receives a percentage of revenues generated by producing wells. This structure offers investors exposure to commodity price movements and production volumes without the direct capital expenditure or operational risks associated with upstream oil and gas companies.

The trust’s assets consist primarily of royalty interests in offshore leases located on the continental shelf of the Gulf of Mexico.