Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE:IPI) Short Interest Up 7.4% in December

Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE:IPI - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 241,100 shares, an increase of 7.4% from the December 15th total of 224,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 95,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Robert P. Jornayvaz III sold 159,513 shares of Intrepid Potash stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.12, for a total value of $4,006,966.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,285,000 shares in the company, valued at $32,279,200. This trade represents a 11.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 401,097 shares of company stock worth $10,189,635. Company insiders own 18.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of IPI. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Intrepid Potash by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,743 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Intrepid Potash by 5.0% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 17,997 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 861 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Intrepid Potash by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 227,169 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,452,000 after buying an additional 1,402 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Intrepid Potash by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 231,594 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,560,000 after buying an additional 1,732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Intrepid Potash by 11.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 22,477 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 2,242 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on IPI shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Intrepid Potash from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Intrepid Potash from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th.

Intrepid Potash Stock Performance

NYSE IPI traded down $0.24 during trading on Friday, hitting $26.50. The stock had a trading volume of 83,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 85,305. Intrepid Potash has a twelve month low of $17.52 and a twelve month high of $29.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $25.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.48.

Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $57.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $42.57 million. Intrepid Potash had a negative net margin of 16.86% and a negative return on equity of 1.32%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.53) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Intrepid Potash will post -0.17 EPS for the current year.

About Intrepid Potash

Intrepid Potash, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the extraction and production of the potash in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Potash, Trio, and Oilfield Solutions. The company offers muriate of potash for various markets, such as agricultural market as a fertilizer input; the industrial market as a component in drilling and fracturing fluids for oil and gas wells, as well as an input to other industrial processes; and the animal feed market as a nutrient supplement.

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