Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $52.25, but opened at $50.16. Valaris shares last traded at $50.16, with a volume of 173,141 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on VAL. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Valaris from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Pickering Energy Partners downgraded shares of Valaris from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Benchmark downgraded shares of Valaris from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Valaris from $95.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Valaris from $98.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Valaris has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.33.

Valaris Stock Down 2.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.98.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Valaris

In other Valaris news, SVP Davor Vukadin sold 15,403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.64, for a total transaction of $872,425.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $755,237.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, COO Gilles Luca sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Davor Vukadin sold 15,403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.64, for a total transaction of $872,425.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $755,237.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 71,403 shares of company stock worth $4,028,246 in the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Valaris

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Valaris by 1.0% in the first quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,213,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Valaris by 3.0% in the first quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 7,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Valaris by 1.2% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Valaris by 180.8% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Valaris by 1.9% in the second quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 12,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $956,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.74% of the company’s stock.

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.