Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE:IPI) Short Interest Update

Intrepid Potash, Inc. (NYSE:IPI) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 241,100 shares, an increase of 7.4% from the December 15th total of 224,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 95,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Intrepid Potash Price Performance

IPI opened at $26.50 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.51. Intrepid Potash has a 1 year low of $17.52 and a 1 year high of $29.75. The firm has a market cap of $348.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.91 and a beta of 2.23.

Intrepid Potash (NYSE:IPI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported ($0.14) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by ($0.25). The business had revenue of $57.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.57 million. Intrepid Potash had a negative return on equity of 1.32% and a negative net margin of 16.86%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.53) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Intrepid Potash will post -0.17 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on IPI. UBS Group raised their price objective on Intrepid Potash from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Intrepid Potash from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intrepid Potash

In related news, major shareholder Robert P. Jornayvaz III sold 159,513 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.12, for a total transaction of $4,006,966.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,285,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,279,200. This trade represents a 11.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 401,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,189,635 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 18.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intrepid Potash

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in IPI. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Intrepid Potash by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 51,775 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,213,000 after buying an additional 6,632 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Intrepid Potash by 5.0% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 17,997 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Intrepid Potash by 8.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 184,337 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,319,000 after purchasing an additional 14,968 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Intrepid Potash by 3.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 737,538 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,281,000 after purchasing an additional 26,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Intrepid Potash during the second quarter valued at approximately $979,000. 56.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Intrepid Potash Company Profile

Intrepid Potash, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the extraction and production of the potash in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Potash, Trio, and Oilfield Solutions. The company offers muriate of potash for various markets, such as agricultural market as a fertilizer input; the industrial market as a component in drilling and fracturing fluids for oil and gas wells, as well as an input to other industrial processes; and the animal feed market as a nutrient supplement.