Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $48.79, but opened at $52.52. Valaris shares last traded at $51.83, with a volume of 445,366 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VAL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Valaris from $95.00 to $71.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Benchmark downgraded shares of Valaris from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Valaris from $91.00 to $61.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Valaris from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners downgraded shares of Valaris from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $81.33.

Valaris Stock Up 3.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm's fifty day moving average is $54.83 and its 200 day moving average is $65.97.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $1.07. The company had revenue of $610.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $545.00 million. Valaris had a net margin of 49.33% and a return on equity of 12.58%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Valaris Limited will post 4.37 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valaris news, SVP Matthew Lyne sold 26,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.77, for a total value of $1,450,020.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 24,388 shares in the company, valued at $1,360,118.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, COO Gilles Luca sold 30,000 shares of Valaris stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.86, for a total transaction of $1,705,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 108,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,160,326.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew Lyne sold 26,000 shares of Valaris stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.77, for a total transaction of $1,450,020.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 24,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,360,118.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 71,403 shares of company stock worth $4,028,246 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valaris

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Valaris by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,893,667 shares of the company's stock worth $129,849,000 after acquiring an additional 77,490 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Valaris by 2.7% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 15,400 shares of the company's stock worth $1,159,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in shares of Valaris by 8.2% in the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 187,822 shares of the company's stock worth $14,135,000 after acquiring an additional 14,206 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Valaris in the first quarter worth about $8,743,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Valaris by 29.1% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 29,566 shares of the company's stock worth $2,225,000 after acquiring an additional 6,658 shares during the last quarter. 96.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Valaris Company Profile

Valaris Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides offshore contract drilling services Gulf of Mexico, South America, North Sea, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through four segments: Floaters, Jackups, ARO, and Other. It owns an offshore drilling rig fleet, which include drillships, dynamically positioned semisubmersible rigs, moored semisubmersible rig, and jackup rigs.