Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

Shares of Valaris Limited (NYSE:VAL) saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 832,862 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 22% from the previous session’s volume of 1,071,453 shares.The stock last traded at $46.48 and had previously closed at $46.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VAL shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Valaris from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Valaris from $61.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup decreased their target price on Valaris from $95.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Benchmark downgraded Valaris from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. One 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, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.00.

Valaris Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 1.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at Valaris

In other news, SVP Matthew Lyne sold 26,000 shares of Valaris stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 24,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,360,118.76. The trade was a 51.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Davor Vukadin sold 15,403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.64, for a total value of $872,425.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,334 shares in the company, valued at $755,237.76. The trade was a 53.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 71,403 shares of company stock worth $4,028,246 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Valaris

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Valaris in the 1st quarter worth approximately $582,000. Natixis purchased a new stake in Valaris during the first quarter worth $730,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Valaris by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 137,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,670,000 after acquiring an additional 17,690 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Valaris in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,652,000. Finally, Waverton Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Valaris by 20.4% during the 3rd quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 670,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,412,000 after purchasing an additional 113,509 shares during the last quarter. 96.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Valaris Company Profile

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.