PBF Energy Up 7.2%, but Its 10% Owner Sold Over $14M

Seoul — U.S. stocks were flat on Oct. 13, with the S&P 500 down 0.02%, the Nasdaq down 0.15% and the small-cap Russell 2000 down 0.4%, yet refiners PBF Energy (PBF) and CVR Energy (CVI) both rose more than 7%. We picked the two stocks that gained 7% or more. Neither company filed anything explaining the move; the reasons come from reports that the whole refining sector rallied.

PBF Energy rode a refining-sector rally (the company said nothing)

PBF Energy (PBF) rose with the rest of the refining sector. Seeking Alpha reported that it climbed 7% during a broad refining rally, and Timothy Sykes and StocksToTrade ran headlines saying Wall Street raised price targets. The headlines also say margins surged, but they don't say which brokers raised targets or by how much.

Over the past seven days the company filed no 8-K (the U.S. report for major events) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It filed only two Form 4s (insider trading reports), on Oct. 7 and Oct. 13. Separately, MarketBeat, Stock Titan and TradingView reported that a 10% owner, Control Empresarial De Capital, sold 170,000 shares worth more than $14 million in two sales on Oct. 8. We can't confirm whether that sale is the one in the Oct. 13 Form 4. Oct. 8 was a day the stock rose 6.76%, so a large holder sold into strength. The reason for the sale hasn't been reported.

The stock is up 10.0% over five sessions and 19.2% since Sept. 9. Trading value on Oct. 13 was about $305 million, and market capitalization is about $10.8 billion. GuruFocus puts its own estimate (GF Value) at $42.10, and the $91.17 close is more than double that. It is one outside model, but it gives a yardstick for how much sector optimism may already be in the price. To judge whether the rise lasts, watch whether the 10% holder files more sales on Form 4 and whether trading value stays near $300 million the next day.

CVR Energy: the same rally, and no filing at all

CVR Energy (CVI) rose for the same reason, hopes for better refining conditions. TipRanks said refining tailwinds sparked a rally, and a Seeking Alpha analysis pointed to crack spreads, tight inventories and geopolitical disruptions as drivers. All of it is sector talk; no headline explains anything specific to CVR.

The company filed nothing with the SEC in the past seven days, not even a Form 4. The stock is up 9.9% over five sessions and 32.2% since Sept. 9, a bigger gain than PBF's. Trading value on Oct. 13 was about $51.2 million and market capitalization about $6.3 billion. One news item says CVI Investments disclosed a 7.6% stake in Pine Tree Acquisition Corp., but that is an unrelated investment firm with a similar name.

Two things help judge it. MarketBeat has published a piece on the Q3 earnings date and estimates, so the report will show whether the margin improvement appears in actual numbers. And the next session's move against PBF shows whether this is a company-specific story or a ride on the sector.

What happened to the stocks we covered before

Here is how last articles' stocks closed on Oct. 13 against their closes on the article dates.

The four stocks backed by filings averaged -2.0%, while the three backed only by reports averaged -5.5%. Veradermics, which had no reason, fell 8.2%. The sample is small, though. Vaxcyte fell 9.5% despite a filing and XP rose 11.5% on reports alone, so the type of evidence alone does not settle the outcome.