Short Interest in Basf Se (OTCMKTS:BASFY) Increases By 184.2%

Basf Se (OTCMKTS:BASFY) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 35,831 shares, an increase of 184.2% from the May 14th total of 12,606 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 206,529 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.2 days. Approximately 0.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BASFY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Basf from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Basf in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of Basf from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Basf from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Basf in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Basf Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of BASFY stock opened at $14.36 on Friday. Basf has a 12-month low of $11.75 and a 12-month high of $16.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $15.23 and its 200 day moving average is $14.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.72.

Basf (OTCMKTS:BASFY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.08. Basf had a net margin of 2.91% and a return on equity of 3.90%. The business had revenue of $18.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.44 billion. Research analysts expect that Basf will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current year.

About Basf

BASF SE is a Germany-based chemical company founded in 1865 (originally Badische Anilin- & Soda-Fabrik) and headquartered in Ludwigshafen. It is one of the world’s largest chemical producers, supplying raw materials, intermediates and finished chemical products to a broad range of industries including automotive, construction, agriculture, consumer goods, electronics and industrial manufacturing. The company combines large-scale production with global commercial and logistics networks to serve customers in many end markets.

BASF’s activities span basic and specialty chemicals, performance materials, functional additives, catalysts and coatings, as well as products for nutrition and personal care.