Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO)

Alto Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALTO - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors bought 2,718 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 224% compared to the average volume of 838 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $5.50 price objective on shares of Alto Ingredients in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th.

Alto Ingredients Stock Performance

Shares of ALTO traded down $0.73 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $1.21. The stock had a trading volume of 7,651,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 568,309. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.55 million, a PE ratio of -2.43 and a beta of 1.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 3.09 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $1.58. Alto Ingredients has a 12 month low of $1.18 and a 12 month high of $3.00.

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.11) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $236.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $236.17 million. Alto Ingredients had a negative return on equity of 11.26% and a negative net margin of 3.49%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Alto Ingredients will post -0.04 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alto Ingredients

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alto Ingredients by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 241,977 shares of the company's stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 12,328 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Alto Ingredients in the first quarter worth about $62,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alto Ingredients during the first quarter worth about $68,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Alto Ingredients by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 585,846 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 46,454 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in Alto Ingredients in the 1st quarter worth approximately $131,000. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Alto Ingredients

Alto Ingredients, Inc produces, distributes, and markets specialty alcohols, renewable fuel, and essential ingredients in the United States. The company operates in three segments: Marketing and Distribution, Pekin Campus Production, and Western Production. It offers specialty alcohols used in mouthwash, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, hand sanitizers, disinfectants, and cleaners for health, home, and beauty markets; grain neutral spirits used in alcoholic beverages and vinegar, as well as corn germ used in corn oils in the food and beverage markets; alcohols and other products for paint applications and fertilizers in the industrial and agriculture markets; and essential ingredients include dried yeast, corn protein meal, corn protein feed, distiller's grains, and liquid feed for commercial animal feed and pet food applications, as well as yeast for human consumption.