Braskem (NYSE:BAK) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

Braskem (NYSE:BAK) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on BAK. Citigroup raised Braskem from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Bank of America cut Braskem from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $2.80 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Braskem in a report on Monday, April 20th. Bradesco Corretora cut Braskem from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $1.50 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Braskem from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $5.50 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $3.40.

Braskem Price Performance

NYSE:BAK opened at $4.85 on Monday. Braskem has a 1-year low of $2.32 and a 1-year high of $5.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $4.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.50. The firm has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.14 and a beta of 1.56.

Braskem (NYSE:BAK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.48. Braskem had a negative return on equity of 23.17% and a negative net margin of 13.72%.The company had revenue of $3.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.39 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Braskem will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Braskem by 50.1% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 13,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 4,513 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Braskem by 444.4% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 7,003 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Braskem by 222.1% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 12,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 8,832 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC raised its stake in Braskem by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 44,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 9,938 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new position in Braskem in the 1st quarter valued at about $51,000.

Braskem Company Profile

Braskem (NYSE:BAK) is a leading integrated petrochemical company based in São Paulo, Brazil, and holds the distinction of being the largest thermoplastic resins producer in Latin America. The company operates across the entire value chain, from feedstock sourcing and polymer production to distribution and recycling. Braskem’s comprehensive approach to petrochemical manufacturing enables it to serve a diverse set of end markets with a broad portfolio of products.

Braskem’s core product lines include polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which are used in industries such as packaging, automotive, construction and electrical & electronics.