Braskem (NYSE:BAK) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $2.91, but opened at $3.04. Braskem shares last traded at $3.0650, with a volume of 215,330 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Santander cut Braskem from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Braskem in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup cut Braskem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group cut Braskem from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $5.10 to $3.80 in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Braskem from $6.00 to $5.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $4.40.

Braskem Stock Up 4.4%

The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of -1.33 and a beta of 1.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $2.72 and a 200-day moving average of $3.09.

Braskem (NYSE:BAK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.48) by $0.46. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Braskem S.A. will post -0.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Braskem

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BAK. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Braskem by 2.6% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 783,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,896,000 after purchasing an additional 19,956 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Braskem by 607.1% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 263,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $865,000 after purchasing an additional 226,467 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in Braskem in the first quarter valued at about $532,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Braskem by 12.6% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 110,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $424,000 after acquiring an additional 12,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banco BTG Pactual S.A. bought a new stake in Braskem in the first quarter worth $248,000.

About Braskem

Braskem SA, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells thermoplastic resins. The company operates through three segments: Brazil, United States and Europe, and Mexico. The Brazil segment produces and sells olefins, including ethylene, polymer and chemical grade propylene, butadiene, and butene-1; benzene, toluene, and xylenes products; fuels, such as automotive gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas, ethyl tertiary-butyl ether, and methyl tertiary-butyl ether; intermediates, such as cumene; aliphatics, aromatics, and hydrogenated solvents; and specialties comprising isoprene, dicyclopentadiene, piperylene, nonene, tetramer, polyisobutylene, and hydrocarbon resins.