Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) Stock Rated “Strong Sell” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) has earned an average rating of “Strong Sell” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $2.56.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BAK. UBS Group cut shares of Braskem from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $4.00 to $1.50 in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Braskem in a report on Thursday, October 15th. HSBC lowered shares of Braskem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $6.50 to $1.50 in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Braskem to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 17th.

Braskem Stock Performance

NYSE:BAK traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $1.14. 798,359 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,192,145. Braskem has a one year low of $0.74 and a one year high of $5.39. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $452.81 million, a PE ratio of -0.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.06 and a beta of 1.68.

Braskem (NYSE:BAK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 13th. The company reported ($0.52) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.54). Braskem had a negative return on equity of 67.75% and a negative net margin of 7.28%. The company had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.64 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Braskem will post 1.53 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Braskem

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAK. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in Braskem in the 1st quarter worth approximately $51,000. Ramsey Quantitative Systems increased its stake in shares of Braskem by 24.7% during the third quarter. Ramsey Quantitative Systems now owns 79,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 15,627 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Braskem by 393.2% during the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 25,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 20,015 shares in the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC bought a new position in Braskem during the 2nd quarter valued at about $89,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in Braskem in the first quarter worth about $157,000.

About Braskem

Braskem is a Brazilian petrochemical company that produces thermoplastic resins and basic petrochemicals used in packaging, construction, automotive manufacturing, consumer goods and other industries. Its products include polyethylene, polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride, as well as chemical building blocks such as ethylene and propylene. The company also makes bio-based plastics, including polyethylene produced from sugarcane-derived ethanol and marketed under its I’m green brand. These materials are designed to serve applications similar to those of conventional plastics.