PureCycle Technologies Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:PCT)

PureCycle Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:PCT) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders bought 41,163 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 190% compared to the average daily volume of 14,190 call options.

PureCycle Technologies Stock Down 8.0%

PCT stock traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $5.77. The company had a trading volume of 4,085,481 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,716,293. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 27.37, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a current ratio of 2.60. The company has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.95 and a beta of 2.57. PureCycle Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $4.93 and a fifty-two week high of $15.49.

PureCycle Technologies (NASDAQ:PCT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.80) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.29) by ($0.51). The company had revenue of $4.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.11 million. PureCycle Technologies had a negative return on equity of 612.39% and a negative net margin of 1,618.84%. Analysts forecast that PureCycle Technologies will post -0.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Northland Securities set a $13.00 price target on shares of PureCycle Technologies in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of PureCycle Technologies from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of PureCycle Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors set a $16.00 target price on shares of PureCycle Technologies in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at PureCycle Technologies

In other news, Director Fernando Musa acquired 15,479 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $6.38 per share, for a total transaction of $98,756.02. Following the acquisition, the director owned 175,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,122,771.54. This represents a 9.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PureCycle Technologies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of PureCycle Technologies by 6,571.8% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,563 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in PureCycle Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in PureCycle Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PureCycle Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance acquired a new stake in shares of PureCycle Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $87,000. 63.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PureCycle Technologies Company Profile

PureCycle Technologies, Inc operates as a recycling technology company focused on restoring waste polypropylene to a “virgin-like” state through a proprietary purification process licensed from Procter & Gamble. The company develops, owns and operates recycling facilities that convert used polypropylene feedstock—such as packaging and industrial plastics—into ultra‐pure recycled resin. This resin, known as Qualified Recycled Polymer (QRP), is designed to meet stringent quality specifications for applications in packaging, consumer goods and industrial products.

Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, PureCycle was established with technology development efforts dating back to licensing agreements in the mid-2010s and later spun off as a publicly traded entity in 2021.