Braskem (NYSE:BAK) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to an overweight rating. The stock had previously closed at $3.80, but opened at $4.14. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now has a $5.50 price target on the stock. Braskem shares last traded at $4.4960, with a volume of 2,039,170 shares trading hands.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on BAK. Citigroup raised shares of Braskem from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Braskem in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Zacks Research raised shares of Braskem from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Bradesco Corretora lowered shares of Braskem from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $1.50 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Braskem from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $2.80 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $3.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Braskem

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BAK. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Braskem by 444.4% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 7,003 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Braskem by 222.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 12,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 8,832 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Braskem by 50.1% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 13,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 4,513 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in Braskem during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Braskem during the 4th quarter worth $44,000.

Braskem Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.40. The firm has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.98 and a beta of 1.56.

Braskem (NYSE:BAK) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported ($2.33) EPS for the quarter. Braskem had a negative return on equity of 21.95% and a negative net margin of 14.53%.The business had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Braskem S.A. will post -2 earnings per share for the current year.

About Braskem

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.