CVR Energy (NYSE:CVI) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

CVR Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CVI - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $18.49, but opened at $20.71. CVR Energy shares last traded at $21.79, with a volume of 326,047 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of CVR Energy from $24.00 to $21.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of CVR Energy from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of CVR Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CVR Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $23.00.

CVR Energy Stock Up 0.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 338.97 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.12.

CVR Energy (NYSE:CVI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.85 billion. CVR Energy had a negative return on equity of 4.99% and a net margin of 0.09%. On average, equities analysts forecast that CVR Energy, Inc. will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn acquired 878,212 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $18.25 per share, for a total transaction of $16,027,369.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 67,570,593 shares in the company, valued at $1,233,163,322.25. This trade represents a 1.32 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.01% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CVR Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in CVR Energy by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,075,058 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $47,789,000 after buying an additional 317,475 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in CVR Energy by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 750,195 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $14,059,000 after buying an additional 269,763 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in CVR Energy by 1,203.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 286,100 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,362,000 after buying an additional 264,143 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP grew its holdings in CVR Energy by 744.9% in the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 293,129 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,493,000 after buying an additional 258,436 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in CVR Energy by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,181,295 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $40,876,000 after buying an additional 238,081 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.88% of the company's stock.

CVR Energy Company Profile

CVR Energy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the petroleum refining and marketing, and nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing activities in the United States. It operates in two segments, Petroleum and Nitrogen Fertilizer. The Petroleum segment refines and supplies gasoline, crude oil, distillate, diesel fuel, and other refined products.