Braskem (NYSE:BAK) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Shares of Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $2.45, but opened at $2.37. Braskem shares last traded at $2.3650, with a volume of 185,005 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BAK. Bank of America cut Braskem from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $2.80 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Citigroup lowered Braskem from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Bradesco Corretora cut Braskem from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $1.50 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Braskem in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Braskem from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus target price of $3.40.

Braskem Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.67. The firm has a market cap of $942.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.06 and a beta of 1.61.

Braskem (NYSE:BAK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $3.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.39 billion. Braskem had a negative net margin of 13.72% and a negative return on equity of 23.17%. On average, analysts expect that Braskem S.A. will post 2.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Braskem

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Braskem by 178,471.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 49,972 shares during the period. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Braskem during the first quarter worth about $2,013,000. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in shares of Braskem during the first quarter worth about $51,000. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Braskem in the first quarter valued at approximately $157,000. Finally, SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC boosted its position in Braskem by 49.7% in the first quarter. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC now owns 54,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,000 after buying 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.