Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX)

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors acquired 7,268 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 473% compared to the typical volume of 1,269 put options.

Century Aluminum Stock Up 9.2 %

Century Aluminum stock traded up $1.71 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $20.40. The company had a trading volume of 2,002,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,334,999. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $19.66 and its 200-day moving average is $17.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.56. Century Aluminum has a fifty-two week low of $9.65 and a fifty-two week high of $25.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.80 and a beta of 2.50.

Insider Activity at Century Aluminum

In other news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 29,243 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.97, for a total value of $554,739.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 50,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,784.41. This trade represents a 36.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 49.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 959,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,565,000 after purchasing an additional 319,164 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 266.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 97,396 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,581,000 after purchasing an additional 70,825 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 301,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,901,000 after acquiring an additional 43,881 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Century Aluminum during the fourth quarter worth $337,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $475,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CENX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. B. Riley raised their price target on Century Aluminum from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Century Aluminum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th.

About Century Aluminum

Century Aluminum Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production of standard-grade and value-added primary aluminum products in the United States and Iceland. It also owns and operates an alumina production facility in Iceland, and a carbon anode production facility in the Netherlands.