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

Shares of Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $3.31, but opened at $3.15. Braskem shares last traded at $3.0950, with a volume of 526,969 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BAK shares. UBS Group lowered shares of 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. Zacks Research upgraded Braskem from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Braskem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Santander downgraded Braskem from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Braskem in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.40.

Braskem Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $2.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.99. The firm has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of -1.34 and a beta of 1.88.

Braskem (NYSE:BAK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.48) by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Braskem S.A. will post -0.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Braskem

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BAK. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its stake in Braskem by 28.7% during the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 44,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 9,938 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Braskem during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Braskem by 94.7% in the third quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 32,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 15,630 shares during the period. UBS Group AG increased its position in Braskem by 2.6% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 783,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,896,000 after purchasing an additional 19,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Braskem during the third quarter worth about $64,000.

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.