Braskem (NYSE:BAK) Stock Price Up 7.9% – What’s Next?

Shares of Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) rose 7.9% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $3.54 and last traded at $3.5940. Approximately 590,036 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 2,441,782 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Braskem from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $5.50 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Zacks Research downgraded Braskem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Bank of America downgraded Braskem from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $2.80 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Braskem in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Bradesco Corretora cut Braskem from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $1.50 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $3.40.

Braskem Trading Up 4.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.08 and a beta of 1.57. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $3.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.69.

Braskem (NYSE:BAK) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $3.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.39 billion. Braskem had a negative return on equity of 23.17% and a negative net margin of 13.72%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Braskem S.A. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Braskem by 178,471.4% during 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 position in shares of Braskem during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,013,000. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in shares of Braskem during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Braskem during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $157,000. Finally, SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC boosted its position in shares of Braskem by 49.7% during the 1st quarter. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC now owns 54,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,000 after acquiring an additional 18,085 shares during the last quarter.

Braskem Company Profile

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.