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

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its price target dropped by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $92.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 26.09% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on WLK. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Westlake from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Westlake in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Mizuho cut their target price on Westlake from $110.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Westlake from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Westlake from $145.00 to $130.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.00.

Westlake Stock Down 0.1%

WLK stock opened at $72.96 on Thursday. Westlake has a 52 week low of $56.33 and a 52 week high of $124.23. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $9.35 billion, a PE ratio of -5.75 and a beta of 0.62.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.77) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by ($0.67). Westlake had a negative return on equity of 1.89% and a negative net margin of 14.91%.The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.31) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Westlake will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Westlake

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 90.0% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 38,687 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,869,000 after buying an additional 18,321 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 19,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,881,000 after acquiring an additional 1,668 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 1st quarter valued at $211,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 43.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,350 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in Westlake by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 3,788 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

About Westlake

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.