Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Price

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price target reduced by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $98.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price points to a potential upside of 14.06% from the company’s previous close.

WLK has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Westlake from $122.00 to $96.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Bank of America upgraded Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $116.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group cut their target price on Westlake from $144.00 to $127.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Westlake from $110.00 to $82.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Westlake currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.08.

Westlake Trading Up 7.4%

WLK stock traded up $5.92 during trading on Monday, reaching $85.92. The company had a trading volume of 276,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 595,829. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. Westlake has a 52 week low of $76.97 and a 52 week high of $161.31. The business has a 50 day moving average of $95.30 and a 200 day moving average of $111.05. The company has a market cap of $11.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 120.94, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.03.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($1.01). The business had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Westlake by 247.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Westlake by 251.1% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 316 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 127.1% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 427 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 6,316.7% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 385 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Westlake by 1,668.2% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 389 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Westlake

Westlake Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of performance and essential materials, and housing and infrastructure products in the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Taiwan, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Performance and Essential Materials and Housing and Infrastructure Products.