Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND)

Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders bought 4,331 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 209% compared to the average volume of 1,400 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SAND shares. HC Wainwright decreased their price target on shares of Sandstorm Gold from $12.00 to $11.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Sandstorm Gold from $6.75 to $7.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Sandstorm Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sandstorm Gold has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $8.56.

Sandstorm Gold Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE SAND traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $7.54. 1,383,428 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,128,583. The company has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 151.33 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.98. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Sandstorm Gold has a one year low of $4.92 and a one year high of $7.58.

Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $47.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.49 million. Sandstorm Gold had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 0.98%. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.04) EPS. On average, analysts predict that Sandstorm Gold will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sandstorm Gold

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co purchased a new position in shares of Sandstorm Gold in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,177,000. Pullen Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Sandstorm Gold by 44.2% in the fourth quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 180,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after acquiring an additional 55,459 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in Sandstorm Gold by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 127,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 4,792 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Sandstorm Gold by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 140,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $785,000 after purchasing an additional 6,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 580.6% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,314,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974,600 shares in the last quarter. 51.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sandstorm Gold Company Profile

Sandstorm Gold Ltd. operates as a gold royalty company. The company focuses on acquiring royalties and gold and other metals purchase agreements from companies that have advanced stage operating mines. It offers upfront payments for companies to acquire a stream and receives the right to purchase a percentage of a mine's production for the life of the mine.