Braskem (NYSE:BAK) Shares Up 5.8% – What’s Next?

Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK)’s stock price shot up 5.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $2.46 and last traded at $2.4550. Approximately 596,424 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 2,423,825 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.32.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BAK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research cut Braskem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Braskem in a report on Friday. Bradesco Corretora downgraded Braskem from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $1.50 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Bank of America lowered Braskem from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $2.80 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Citigroup cut Braskem from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $3.40.

Braskem Trading Up 5.4%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $3.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $974.59 million, a P/E ratio of -0.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.13 and a beta of 1.61.

Braskem (NYSE:BAK) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 13.72% and a negative return on equity of 23.17%. The firm had revenue of $3.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.39 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Braskem S.A. will post 1.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ramsey Quantitative Systems purchased a new position in shares of Braskem in the 2nd quarter worth about $155,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Braskem by 178,471.4% in the 1st 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. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd bought a new stake in Braskem in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,013,000. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in Braskem during the 1st quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Braskem during the first quarter worth about $157,000.

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.