Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Amplify Energy (NYSE:AMPY)

Amplify Energy Corp. (NYSE:AMPY) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Investors bought 5,005 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 901% compared to the average daily volume of 500 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Alliance Global Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Amplify Energy in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $8.50 target price on Amplify Energy in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $11.00 price target on shares of Amplify Energy in a report on Thursday, January 16th.

Amplify Energy Price Performance

AMPY stock opened at $2.91 on Friday. Amplify Energy has a 52-week low of $2.76 and a 52-week high of $8.15. The business has a fifty day moving average of $4.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.78. The stock has a market cap of $117.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Amplify Energy (NYSE:AMPY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.17). Amplify Energy had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 16.22%. The company had revenue of $69.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.04 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Amplify Energy will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Deborah G. Adams bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $4.14 per share, with a total value of $41,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 61,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,518.54. This trade represents a 19.25 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Todd R. Snyder acquired 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $3.83 per share, for a total transaction of $95,750.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 108,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $415,233.28. The trade was a 29.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 50,000 shares of company stock worth $194,900. 1.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Amplify Energy by 4.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 113,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $740,000 after acquiring an additional 4,454 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amplify Energy by 139.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $181,000 after purchasing an additional 16,113 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Amplify Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Amplify Energy during the third quarter worth $76,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in Amplify Energy by 2.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 805,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,258,000 after buying an additional 16,885 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.84% of the company’s stock.

About Amplify Energy

Amplify Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, development, exploitation, and production of oil and natural gas properties in the United States. The company’s properties consist of operated and non-operated working interests in producing and undeveloped leasehold acreage, as well as working interests in identified producing wells located in Oklahoma, the Rockies, federal waters offshore Southern California, East Texas/North Louisiana, and Eagle Ford.