Braskem (NYSE:BAK) Stock Price Up 8.7% – Here’s What Happened

Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) shares shot up 8.7% on Friday . The company traded as high as $3.12 and last traded at $3.1750. 460,278 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 970,162 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.92.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BAK. Santander cut Braskem from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group cut Braskem from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $5.10 to $3.80 in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Braskem in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Braskem from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Braskem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Braskem has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.40.

Braskem Trading Up 5.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of -1.34 and a beta of 1.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $2.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.99.

Braskem (NYSE:BAK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by $0.46. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Braskem S.A. will post -0.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Braskem

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BAK. Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its position in Braskem by 94.7% during the third quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 32,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 15,630 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Braskem during the third quarter worth $64,000. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Braskem by 145.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 56,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 33,614 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Braskem by 28.7% in the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 44,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 9,938 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Braskem by 2.6% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 783,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,896,000 after purchasing an additional 19,956 shares during the period.

About Braskem

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.