Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) Trading Up 4% After Insider Buying Activity

Ecovyst Inc. (NYSE:ECVT) traded up 4% on Tuesday following insider buying activity. The company traded as high as $10.45 and last traded at $10.3640. Approximately 247,857 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 1,715,627 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.97.

Specifically, Director Patti Humble acquired 24,875 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $10.05 per share, for a total transaction of $249,993.75. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 33,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $341,438.70. This represents a 273.38% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ecovyst in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Ecovyst in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Freedom Capital raised Ecovyst to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Ecovyst in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, BWS Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Ecovyst in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.62.

Ecovyst Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a PE ratio of -19.55, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $11.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.02. Ecovyst had a negative net margin of 7.05% and a positive return on equity of 13.83%. The business had revenue of $249.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $237.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.12 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 24.9% on a year-over-year basis. Ecovyst has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.580-0.720 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ecovyst Inc. will post 0.6 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ecovyst in the second quarter valued at approximately $132,792,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Ecovyst by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,498,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,573,000 after buying an additional 111,376 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Ecovyst by 246.6% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,829,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,101,000 after buying an additional 3,435,942 shares in the last quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. grew its stake in Ecovyst by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. now owns 2,196,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,251,000 after acquiring an additional 21,850 shares during the period. Finally, Medina Value Partners LLC grew its stake in Ecovyst by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Medina Value Partners LLC now owns 2,192,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,328,000 after acquiring an additional 31,877 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.69% of the company’s stock.

About Ecovyst

Ecovyst Inc (NYSE: ECVT) is a global provider of specialty catalysts and related services used in refining, petrochemical, chemical, renewable-fuels and industrial applications. The company develops and manufactures zeolite-based catalysts, molecular sieves and other advanced materials that help customers improve chemical processes, product performance and emissions control.

Ecovyst also operates a specialty services business that provides sulfuric acid regeneration, spent-acid management, catalyst recovery and related environmental services.