Sappi (OTCMKTS:SPPJY) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Sappi Ltd. (OTCMKTS:SPPJY)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $0.7145, but opened at $0.88. Sappi shares last traded at $0.88, with a volume of 1,500 shares.

The basic materials company reported ($0.08) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.10. Sappi had a negative net margin of 12.70% and a negative return on equity of 4.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sappi from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold”.

Sappi Stock Up 23.2%

The firm has a market capitalization of $532.03 million, a PE ratio of -0.79 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $0.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $0.97.

About Sappi

Sappi Limited, trading on the OTCMKTS as SPPJY, is a global pulp and paper company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. Originally established in 1936 as South African Pulp and Paper Industries, Sappi has grown into a diversified manufacturer of dissolving wood pulp, graphic papers, packaging and specialty papers. The company serves customers in over 150 countries and operates a network of mills and sales offices across three key regions: Europe, North America and South Africa.

Sappi’s product portfolio is organized into several main categories.