Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $16.48, but opened at $17.25. Century Aluminum shares last traded at $17.07, with a volume of 216,085 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CENX shares. B. Riley cut their target price on shares of Century Aluminum from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Century Aluminum from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Century Aluminum from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $14.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.05. The company has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.28 and a beta of 2.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.72.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The industrial products company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $560.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $530.90 million. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 10.32% and a negative return on equity of 0.04%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum will post 0.07 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CENX. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum in the fourth quarter worth $249,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 169,574 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,059,000 after buying an additional 5,064 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum in the first quarter valued at about $2,058,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 199.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,878 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 1,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 43.4% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 230,860 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,553,000 after buying an additional 69,910 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.59% of the company's stock.

Century Aluminum Company Profile

Century Aluminum Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production of standard-grade and value-added primary aluminum products in the United States and Iceland. It also owns and operates an alumina production facility in Iceland, and a carbon anode production facility in the Netherlands.