Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Ecovyst Inc. (NYSE:ECVT) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $8.10, but opened at $7.46. Ecovyst shares last traded at $7.14, with a volume of 325,137 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Ecovyst from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. BWS Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $12.00 price target on shares of Ecovyst in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Ecovyst from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd.

Ecovyst Trading Down 17.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $782.36 million, a PE ratio of 14.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.05. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $7.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.37. The company has a quick ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.02. Ecovyst had a return on equity of 7.07% and a net margin of 7.74%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ecovyst Inc. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Ecovyst

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ECVT. Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Ecovyst by 72.9% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,896 shares during the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C acquired a new stake in shares of Ecovyst during the 4th quarter worth about $79,000. Bridgefront Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ecovyst during the fourth quarter worth about $81,000. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in Ecovyst in the 4th quarter valued at $83,000. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ecovyst during the third quarter worth about $86,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.69% of the company’s stock.

Ecovyst Company Profile

Ecovyst Inc offers specialty catalysts and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Ecoservices and Advanced Materials & Catalysts. The Ecoservices segment provides sulfuric acid recycling services and end-to-end logistics for production of alkylate for refineries; and virgin sulfuric acid for mining, water treatment, and industrial applications.