Traders Buy High Volume of Vale Call Options (NYSE:VALE)

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders acquired 57,204 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 23% compared to the typical volume of 46,402 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on VALE shares. BNP Paribas raised Vale from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Vale from $18.00 to $15.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. UBS Group upgraded Vale from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Vale in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Vale from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.55.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vale

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Vale by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 491,207 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,791,000 after purchasing an additional 225,806 shares during the last quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 9,399,887 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $149,082,000 after acquiring an additional 705,520 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 49,161.5% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,440,413 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,705,000 after acquiring an additional 2,435,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in shares of Vale in the 4th quarter valued at $190,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.85% of the company’s stock.

Vale Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:VALE traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $11.31. The company had a trading volume of 12,806,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,819,039. Vale has a 12 month low of $11.02 and a 12 month high of $16.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $50.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.22, a PEG ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.14.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.03). Vale had a net margin of 18.72% and a return on equity of 19.59%. The firm had revenue of $8.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.35 billion. On average, analysts predict that Vale will post 2.18 EPS for the current year.

Vale Company Profile

Vale SA, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells iron ore and iron ore pellets for use as raw materials in steelmaking in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through Iron Solutions and Energy Transition Materials segments. The Iron Solutions segment produces and extracts iron ore and pellets, manganese, and other ferrous products; and provides related logistic services.