Vale SA Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (VALE)

Vale SA (NYSE:VALE) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 32,429 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 541% compared to the average volume of 5,058 call options.

Vale SA (VALE) opened at 10.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $51.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.23 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $9.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.25. Vale SA has a one year low of $4.86 and a one year high of $11.70.

Vale SA (NYSE:VALE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.01. Vale SA had a return on equity of 1.35% and a net margin of 2.39%. The firm had revenue of $7.24 billion during the quarter. Equities analysts predict that Vale SA will post $1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets set a $8.00 target price on Vale SA and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $11.00 price objective on Vale SA and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Jefferies Group LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vale SA in a report on Friday, July 28th. Credit Suisse Group set a $8.00 price objective on Vale SA and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, BidaskClub lowered Vale SA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $9.16.

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Trust N.A. acquired a new stake in Vale SA during the first quarter valued at about $101,000. Nine Chapters Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vale SA during the first quarter valued at about $107,000. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vale SA during the second quarter valued at about $107,000. Cadinha & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in Vale SA during the first quarter valued at about $109,000. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Vale SA by 0.7% in the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 12,991 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 8.76% of the company’s stock.

Vale SA Company Profile

Vale SA is a global producer of iron ore and iron ore pellets, key raw materials for steelmaking, and producer of nickel. The Company also produces copper, metallurgical and thermal coal, potash, phosphates and other fertilizer nutrients, manganese ore, ferroalloys, platinum group metals, gold, silver and cobalt.