Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) Short Interest Update

Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 6,059,110 shares, an increase of 77.0% from the August 15th total of 3,422,532 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,731,655 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on BAK shares. UBS Group cut Braskem from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $4.00 to $1.50 in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup lowered shares of Braskem from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Braskem in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Braskem from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $2.83.

Institutional Trading of Braskem

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its stake in shares of Braskem by 192.8% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 68,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,000 after buying an additional 44,905 shares in the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Braskem in the second quarter worth approximately $89,000. Ramsey Quantitative Systems bought a new position in shares of Braskem in the second quarter valued at approximately $155,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Braskem by 178,471.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 49,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklands Fund Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Braskem during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,013,000.

Braskem Trading Down 16.0%

BAK stock traded down $0.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $1.76. The stock had a trading volume of 2,604,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,416,358. The firm has a market cap of $703.53 million, a P/E ratio of -0.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.12 and a beta of 1.56. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $2.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.24. Braskem has a 1-year low of $1.40 and a 1-year high of $5.39.

Braskem (NYSE:BAK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 26th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Braskem had a negative return on equity of 67.75% and a negative net margin of 7.28%.The company had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Braskem will post 1.58 EPS for the current year.

About Braskem

Braskem SA is a Brazilian petrochemical company headquartered in São Paulo. Established in 2002 through the combination of Odebrecht Química and the petrochemical company Copene, Braskem has developed into one of Latin America’s major producers of thermoplastic resins and basic petrochemicals.

The company manufactures polyethylene, polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which are used in packaging, construction, automotive components, consumer goods and other industrial applications.