Braskem (NYSE:BAK) Shares Down 7.3% – Time to Sell?

Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK)’s stock price fell 7.3% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $2.21 and last traded at $2.2350. Approximately 380,982 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 2,395,477 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.41.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup cut shares of Braskem from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Braskem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Bradesco Corretora cut shares of Braskem from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $1.50 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Braskem in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Braskem from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Braskem presently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus target price of $3.40.

Braskem Trading Down 3.9%

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $3.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.61. The company has a market cap of $922.77 million, a PE ratio of -0.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.13 and a beta of 1.61.

Braskem (NYSE:BAK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $3.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.39 billion. Braskem had a negative net margin of 13.72% and a negative return on equity of 23.17%. Sell-side analysts expect that Braskem S.A. will post 1.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Braskem

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in Braskem by 607.1% in the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 263,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $865,000 after purchasing an additional 226,467 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Braskem by 130.3% during the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 49,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,000 after purchasing an additional 27,891 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new position in shares of Braskem in the third quarter worth approximately $117,000. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Braskem by 2.6% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 783,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,896,000 after purchasing an additional 19,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC raised its stake in Braskem by 28.7% in the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 44,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 9,938 shares in the last quarter.

About Braskem

Braskem (NYSE:BAK) is a leading integrated petrochemical company based in São Paulo, Brazil, and holds the distinction of being the largest thermoplastic resins producer in Latin America. The company operates across the entire value chain, from feedstock sourcing and polymer production to distribution and recycling. Braskem’s comprehensive approach to petrochemical manufacturing enables it to serve a diverse set of end markets with a broad portfolio of products.

Braskem’s core product lines include polypropylene, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which are used in industries such as packaging, automotive, construction and electrical & electronics.