Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $11.64, but opened at $12.93. Green Plains shares last traded at $13.47, with a volume of 460,958 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GPRE. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Green Plains from $22.00 to $17.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Green Plains from $25.00 to $18.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer downgraded Green Plains from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Green Plains from $26.00 to $23.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Craig Hallum reduced their target price on Green Plains from $34.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Green Plains presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $25.50.

Green Plains Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $12.89 and a 200-day moving average of $15.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $790.73 million, a PE ratio of -18.31 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.35). Green Plains had a negative return on equity of 4.94% and a negative net margin of 1.64%. The firm had revenue of $618.83 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $646.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.89) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 27.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Green Plains Inc. will post -1.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Green Plains by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,213,549 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $106,266,000 after purchasing an additional 53,320 shares during the last quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Green Plains during the 1st quarter valued at about $7,688,000. Thomist Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Green Plains during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,011,000. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 120,400 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,784,000 after acquiring an additional 14,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its holdings in shares of Green Plains by 278.7% during the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 140,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,228,000 after acquiring an additional 103,400 shares during the last quarter.

About Green Plains

Green Plains Inc produces low-carbon fuels in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Ethanol Production, Agribusiness and Energy Services, and Partnership. The Ethanol Production segment produces ethanol, distillers grains, and ultra-high protein and renewable corn oil.