Vale Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:VALE)

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders acquired 59,098 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 64% compared to the typical volume of 36,140 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda grew its holdings in Vale by 60.6% during the second quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 21,969,937 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $245,404,000 after purchasing an additional 8,288,112 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Vale by 395.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,152,069 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $79,889,000 after purchasing an additional 5,707,969 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC grew its holdings in Vale by 3,952.2% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 3,343,572 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,758,000 after purchasing an additional 3,261,060 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Vale by 110.9% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,459,485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,983,000 after purchasing an additional 2,871,094 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Vale by 27.8% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,853,914 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $132,408,000 after purchasing an additional 2,578,900 shares during the period. 21.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vale Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VALE traded up $0.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $10.89. The company had a trading volume of 59,678,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,312,193. Vale has a 52 week low of $9.66 and a 52 week high of $16.08. The stock has a market cap of $48.80 billion, a PE ratio of 6.01, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.08. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $10.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.30.

Vale (NYSE:VALE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $9.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.97 billion. Vale had a net margin of 23.07% and a return on equity of 22.23%. Analysts expect that Vale will post 2.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com began coverage on Vale in a research note on Friday, October 18th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Scotiabank cut their target price on Vale from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Vale from $15.00 to $14.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Vale from $16.00 to $15.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Vale from $16.50 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.15.

About Vale

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.