Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Imperial Petroleum (NASDAQ:IMPP)

Imperial Petroleum Inc. (NASDAQ:IMPP) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders purchased 7,009 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 370% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,491 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IMPP has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Imperial Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Imperial Petroleum in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Imperial Petroleum currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Imperial Petroleum

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IMPP. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Imperial Petroleum in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GK Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Imperial Petroleum in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Empirical Finance LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Imperial Petroleum in the second quarter valued at about $47,000. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Imperial Petroleum during the third quarter worth about $90,000. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in Imperial Petroleum during the fourth quarter worth about $83,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.44% of the company’s stock.

Imperial Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of IMPP stock traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $4.34. The company had a trading volume of 1,854,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 659,015. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.01 million, a PE ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 1.25. The company’s fifty day moving average is $3.71 and its 200 day moving average is $4.31. Imperial Petroleum has a fifty-two week low of $2.12 and a fifty-two week high of $6.57.

Imperial Petroleum (NASDAQ:IMPP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.21. Imperial Petroleum had a return on equity of 13.60% and a net margin of 28.61%.The company had revenue of $41.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.20 million.

Imperial Petroleum declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, February 9th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Imperial Petroleum Company Profile

Imperial Petroleum Inc provides international seaborne transportation services to oil producers, refineries, and commodities traders. It carries refined petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, and jet fuel, as well as edible oils and chemicals, crude oils, iron ore, coal and grains, and minor bulks, such as bauxite, phosphate, and fertilizers. As of April 1, 2024, the company owned and operated a fleet of six medium range refined petroleum product tankers; one Aframax tanker; two suezmax tankers; and two handysize drybulk carriers with a total capacity of 791,000 deadweight tons.