Braskem (NYSE:BAK) Stock Price Up 7.2% – What’s Next?

Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) shares were up 7.2% during mid-day trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $1.7050 and last traded at $1.7150. 732,536 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 2,333,905 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on BAK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Braskem from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group downgraded Braskem from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $4.00 to $1.50 in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. HSBC lowered shares of Braskem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $6.50 to $1.50 in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Braskem to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Braskem in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus target price of $2.56.

Braskem Trading Up 6.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $679.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.70, a PEG ratio of 0.10 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.75.

Braskem (NYSE:BAK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 26th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Braskem had a negative return on equity of 67.75% and a negative net margin of 7.28%. The firm had revenue of $4.20 billion during the quarter. On average, equities analysts expect that Braskem S.A. will post 1.58 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Braskem

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ramsey Quantitative Systems boosted its position in Braskem by 24.7% in the third quarter. Ramsey Quantitative Systems now owns 79,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 15,627 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Braskem by 393.2% during the third quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 25,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 20,015 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its stake in shares of Braskem by 192.8% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 68,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 44,905 shares during the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Braskem in the second quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Braskem by 178,471.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,000 after acquiring an additional 49,972 shares during the last quarter.

Braskem Company Profile

Braskem SA is a Brazil-based petrochemical company that produces basic chemicals and thermoplastic resins used in packaging, construction, automotive components, consumer goods, agriculture and other industrial applications. Its product portfolio includes polyethylene, polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride, as well as inputs such as ethylene, propylene and other petrochemical intermediates.

Founded in 2002 through the combination of several Brazilian petrochemical businesses, Braskem developed into one of Latin America’s largest petrochemical producers.