Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Vale (NYSE:VALE)

Vale S.A. (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders bought 99,798 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 137% compared to the average daily volume of 42,096 call options.

Vale Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:VALE traded down $0.13 on Wednesday, reaching $8.86. The company had a trading volume of 54,036,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 40,582,770. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.08 billion, a PE ratio of 4.10, a PEG ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Vale has a 52-week low of $8.38 and a 52-week high of $14.47. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $9.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.22.

Vale (NYSE:VALE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.15. Vale had a return on equity of 21.07% and a net margin of 22.59%. The company had revenue of $9.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Vale will post 1.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on VALE shares. Wolfe Research raised shares of Vale from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Vale from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Vale in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Vale from $14.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Vale from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $14.50 to $11.30 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vale has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $13.89.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vale

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VALE. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Vale by 6.3% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 7,951,020 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $92,868,000 after buying an additional 468,432 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new stake in Vale during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,126,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Vale by 274.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 162,453 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 119,061 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP increased its holdings in shares of Vale by 723.2% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 2,035,477 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $23,774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,788,205 shares during the period. Finally, Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vale in the third quarter worth about $1,422,000. 21.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vale Company Profile

Vale SA, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells iron ore and iron ore pellets for use as raw materials in steelmaking in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through Iron Solutions and Energy Transition Materials segments. The Iron Solutions segment produces and extracts iron ore and pellets, manganese, and other ferrous products; and provides related logistic services.