The Greek operator’s New York-listed stock, which trades under the symbol “NMM”, jumped 11.17% in the hour leading up to the close before topping out at $10.84.
Observers note the spike followed an upgrade issued by Amit Mehrotra, an equity analyst at Deutsche Bank.
The researcher stamped the operator with a “buy” rating, a move he attributed to a recent decline in the company’s share price.
“Last week’s 17% decline in NMM shares has taken us off the sidelines and into the 'Buy' camp,” Mehrotra told clients.
“The resulting 18% distribution yield and management’s strategically smart move away from dry bulk toward sustainability of containerships, should support shares at current levels and justify upside from here.”
The forecaster also argued that now is a “particularly good time to buy” since seasonal weakness in the dry-bulk segment is expected to end in the coming weeks.
“As such, our upgrade to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold’ is opportunistic following the sharp sell-off in shares, which we view as the baby (NMM shares) being thrown out with the bathwater (dry bulk) without regard for NMM's unique investment points,” he added.
