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

Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)’s stock 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 changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VAL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Valaris from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Pickering Energy Partners downgraded shares of Valaris from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Valaris from $91.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Valaris from $95.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Benchmark lowered Valaris from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.33.

Valaris Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $55.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $610.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $545.00 million. Valaris had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 49.33%. Analysts expect that Valaris Limited will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Valaris

In other news, COO Gilles Luca sold 30,000 shares of the business’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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Valaris news, SVP Davor Vukadin sold 15,403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $755,237.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Gilles Luca sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 71,403 shares of company stock valued at $4,028,246 in the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Valaris

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Valaris by 180.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valaris in the 1st quarter valued at $149,000. Choreo LLC bought a new position in Valaris during the second quarter worth $204,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Valaris in the second quarter valued at $204,000. Finally, Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in Valaris in the second quarter valued at $211,000. 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.