Castor Maritime (NASDAQ:CTRM) had a successful day. The bulk shipping company, which has unexpectedly become a favorite among Reddit retail traders in recent months, shot up. A positive earnings call is giving CTRM stock some momentum toward the end of the week.
Castor Maritime is a global dry bulk shipping company based in the Middle East. The company is benefitting in recent months from a Reddit backing, even having a dedicated CTRM stock subreddit. It also has been expanding its fleet by 20 ships in recent months, purchasing two more in the last month alone. Castor has also recently been getting into oil shipping, per Motley Fool.
The company is up today, thanks to its big news regarding Q1 earnings. The company reported its earnings this morning, and it is flexing its first profitable quarter in the last five quarters. Particularly, the company saw a $1.1 million profit in the first quarter of the year, good for a 467% year-over-year gain.
The company is also reporting earnings per share of 2 cents to the 68-cent-per-share losses the company saw in Q1 2020. The period saw $64.2 million in cash and restricted cash injected into the company, a much more attractive figure than the $9.4 million the company saw last quarter.
CTRM Stock Looks to Grow to a Legitimate Long-Term Play
CTRM stock is a more controversial play, with some calling it “all hype” and raising skepticism over its highly speculative nature. But, given the success of speculative plays like AMC (NYSE:AMC) recently, the way investors evaluate a stock is being turned on its head.
Regardless, the company is obviously looking to grow itself out and become a more attractive play for long-term growth. Castor CEO Petros Panagiotidis calls the Q1 growth a “transformational period” for the company, adding some choice details on mid-term goals:
“On a fully delivered basis, our fleet will consist of 18 dry bulk carriers and 8 tankers, allowing us to benefit from the ongoing strong demand for dry bulk transportation services as evidenced by the recent charter fixtures of a number of our dry cargo vessels, as well as from a potential future recovery in the tanker market.”
CTRM stock is up 13.4% on the good news, with shares trading at $3.53. Trading volume is much lower than usual, with only 26 million shares moving against the 93 million share average.
On the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
