Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading 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

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VAL. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Valaris from $95.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Valaris from $61.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Pickering Energy Partners cut Valaris from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Valaris from $91.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Benchmark cut Valaris from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valaris currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.33.

Valaris Stock Down 4.3 %

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $54.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a PE ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 47.52%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Valaris Limited will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Valaris

In other Valaris news, SVP Davor Vukadin sold 15,403 shares of Valaris stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.64, for a total transaction of $872,425.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $755,237.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Valaris news, SVP Davor Vukadin sold 15,403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.64, for a total transaction of $872,425.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $755,237.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Gilles Luca sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.86, for a total value of $1,705,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 108,342 shares in the company, valued at $6,160,326.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 71,403 shares of company stock valued at $4,028,246. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Valaris

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Valaris by 180.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Valaris in the 1st quarter valued at $149,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valaris during the 2nd quarter worth $204,000. Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Valaris during the second quarter worth $204,000. Finally, Scientech Research LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valaris in the second quarter valued at $211,000. 96.74% of the stock is 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.