Basf Se (OTCMKTS:BASFY) Short Interest Up 184.2% in May

Basf Se (OTCMKTS:BASFY) was the target of a large increase in short interest in May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 35,831 shares, an increase of 184.2% from the May 14th total of 12,606 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 206,529 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.2 days. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Basf Stock Up 0.7%

BASFY stock opened at $14.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.76, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.93. Basf has a one year low of $11.75 and a one year high of $16.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $15.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $14.17.

Basf (OTCMKTS:BASFY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $18.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.44 billion. Basf had a net margin of 2.91% and a return on equity of 3.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Basf will post 0.85 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of Basf from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Basf in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Basf in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Basf from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Basf from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

About Basf

BASF SE is a Germany-based chemical company founded in 1865 (originally Badische Anilin- & Soda-Fabrik) and headquartered in Ludwigshafen. It is one of the world’s largest chemical producers, supplying raw materials, intermediates and finished chemical products to a broad range of industries including automotive, construction, agriculture, consumer goods, electronics and industrial manufacturing. The company combines large-scale production with global commercial and logistics networks to serve customers in many end markets.

BASF’s activities span basic and specialty chemicals, performance materials, functional additives, catalysts and coatings, as well as products for nutrition and personal care.