Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $50.88, but opened at $48.97. Valaris shares last traded at $49.75, with a volume of 148,910 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on VAL. Benchmark cut Valaris from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Valaris from $91.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Valaris from $95.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Pickering Energy Partners lowered shares of Valaris from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Valaris from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. One equities research 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.33.

Valaris Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $55.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.73. The firm has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.15.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $1.07. Valaris had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 49.33%. The firm had revenue of $610.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $545.00 million. Equities research analysts predict that Valaris Limited will post 4.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Valaris news, COO Gilles Luca sold 30,000 shares of Valaris stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.86, for a total transaction of $1,705,800.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 108,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,160,326.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Matthew Lyne sold 26,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.77, for a total transaction of $1,450,020.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 24,388 shares in the company, valued at $1,360,118.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Gilles Luca sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.86, for a total transaction of $1,705,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 108,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,160,326.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,403 shares of company stock valued at $4,028,246 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Valaris

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VAL. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Valaris in the 1st quarter valued at $7,355,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Valaris by 699.3% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 16,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after acquiring an additional 14,769 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Valaris during the 1st quarter worth about $8,743,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Valaris during the 1st quarter worth about $582,000. Finally, Natixis bought a new position in shares of Valaris in the 1st quarter valued at about $730,000. 96.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Valaris

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.