Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Given New $129.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price raised by research analysts at UBS Group from $92.00 to $129.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 24.90% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WLK. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price (up from $85.00) on shares of Westlake in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $80.00 target price on shares of Westlake in a report on Monday, December 15th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $83.00 price target (down from $91.00) on shares of Westlake in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Westlake in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.53.

Westlake Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:WLK traded down $0.89 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $103.29. 940,607 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,434,448. Westlake has a twelve month low of $56.33 and a twelve month high of $114.75. The business has a 50-day moving average of $85.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.30. The company has a market capitalization of $13.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.93, a PEG ratio of 46.82 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $1.22. Westlake had a negative return on equity of 0.78% and a negative net margin of 8.34%.The firm had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.06 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Westlake will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Westlake

In other news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 40,836 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.57, for a total transaction of $3,004,304.52. Following the sale, the chairman owned 627,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,181,507.54. This trade represents a 6.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Westlake

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Huntington National Bank purchased a new position in Westlake during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Westlake during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 71.3% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 562 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 54.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 567 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Key Westlake News

Here are the key news stories impacting Westlake this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat and adjusted loss narrowed — Westlake reported ($0.25) EPS, beating consensus by a wide margin; the company and some outlets flagged improvement vs. prior loss and management expects a profit rebound in 2026, which supports upside if execution continues. WLK Reports Q4 Loss, Misses Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management highlights cost-saving opportunities and recovery roadmap — earnings call and presentation emphasized strategic cost actions and a path to margin recovery that could boost cash flow and sentiment if visible in coming quarters. Q4 2025 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Asia distribution expansion — Westlake unit expanded its epoxy distribution partnership with Brenntag into India, supporting long‑term growth in APAC industrial and infrastructure demand. Distribution Partnership Expansion
• Neutral Sentiment: BMO maintains Hold (PT $108) — BMO’s analyst kept a Hold rating and $108 target, citing balanced risk/reward despite Q4 strength and cost-saving upside; this signals guarded optimism rather than a clear buy case. BMO Hold Commentary
• Neutral Sentiment: Board changes — Appointment of Bhavesh V. “Bob” Patel and CEO Jean‑Marc Gilson to the board may strengthen governance and industry expertise, but is not an immediate earnings driver. Board Appointments
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue miss and demand weakness — Q4 sales of $2.53B beat neither expectations nor last year’s level (down ~10.9% YoY); management cited weak volumes and pricing, a clear near‑term headwind to earnings recovery. Earnings — Sales Miss
• Negative Sentiment: Mizuho raises target to $97 but keeps Neutral — Mizuho’s $97 target implies downside from current levels, reinforcing cautious analyst positioning and suggesting limited near‑term upside in consensus targets. Mizuho Price Target Note

Westlake Company Profile

Westlake Corp. is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, polymers and building products, serving customers across industrial and residential markets. The company’s core operations encompass the production of vinyls—primarily polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and its key feedstock vinyl chloride monomer (VCM)—as well as chlor-alkali products including caustic soda and chlorine. In addition, Westlake produces ethylene, propylene and specialty elastomers, along with construction-related materials such as vinyl siding, trim, windows and roofing systems.

Operating a network of vertically integrated plants and distribution centers, Westlake serves markets in North America, Europe and Asia.