Energy Recovery Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:ERII)

Energy Recovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERII) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors bought 10,010 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 2,870% compared to the typical daily volume of 337 put options.

Energy Recovery Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ERII traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $8.08. 322,780 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 816,935. The company has a market cap of $416.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $9.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $12.15. Energy Recovery has a 52 week low of $7.83 and a 52 week high of $18.32.

Energy Recovery (NASDAQ:ERII) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $9.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.37 million. Energy Recovery had a net margin of 15.07% and a return on equity of 10.89%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Energy Recovery will post -0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Energy Recovery

In related news, Director Pamela L. Tondreau purchased 20,000 shares of Energy Recovery stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $8.34 per share, for a total transaction of $166,800.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 37,362 shares in the company, valued at $311,599.08. The trade was a 115.19% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arve Hanstveit sold 165,292 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.14, for a total value of $1,676,060.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 384,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,903,169.92. The trade was a 30.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royce & Associates LP purchased a new position in Energy Recovery in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,898,000. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Energy Recovery by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 308,006 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,749,000 after buying an additional 59,078 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of Energy Recovery by 167.4% in the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 109,307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,475,000 after acquiring an additional 68,431 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Energy Recovery by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,852,438 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $51,969,000 after acquiring an additional 89,696 shares during the period. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Energy Recovery during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,498,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Seaport Research Partners reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 price target on shares of Energy Recovery in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings cut Energy Recovery from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Freedom Capital lowered Energy Recovery from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Northcoast Research cut Energy Recovery from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Energy Recovery from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.00.

About Energy Recovery

Energy Recovery, Inc (NASDAQ: ERII) is an energy technology company specializing in the design and manufacture of high-efficiency devices that capture and repurpose energy in fluid-handling applications. The company’s core offering, the Pressure Exchanger® (PX®) device, enables seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plants to recover and reuse hydraulic energy that would otherwise be lost during brine discharge. By integrating PX technology into desalination processes, Energy Recovery helps operators significantly reduce the energy consumption and operating costs of producing fresh water from seawater or brackish sources.

In addition to desalination solutions, Energy Recovery has expanded its portfolio to serve the oil and gas sector through turbocharger systems that improve the energy efficiency of hydraulic fracturing operations.