StockNews.com Downgrades Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) to Sell

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on VNOM. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Viper Energy in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Viper Energy from $46.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Viper Energy in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $64.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp upgraded Viper Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $62.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Viper Energy from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.91.

Viper Energy Price Performance

VNOM stock traded up $0.95 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $47.85. The stock had a trading volume of 9,390,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,889,369. Viper Energy has a 52-week low of $30.56 and a 52-week high of $56.76. The company has a market cap of $9.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54 and a beta of 1.71. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.74. The company has a current ratio of 7.24, a quick ratio of 7.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $209.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $210.54 million. Viper Energy had a return on equity of 6.72% and a net margin of 24.65%. The company’s revenue was down 28.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Viper Energy will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Viper Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Viper Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 328.5% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 587 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 208.1% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 681 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Viper Energy by 43.9% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 701 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Viper Energy by 524.8% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,387 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165 shares during the last quarter. 87.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Viper Energy

Viper Energy, Inc engages in the acquisition of oil and natural gas properties. It owns, acquires, and exploits oil and natural gas properties in North America. The company was founded on February 27, 2014 and is headquartered in Midland, TX.