Sappi (OTCMKTS:SPPJY) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Sappi Ltd. (OTCMKTS:SPPJY)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $0.7145, but opened at $0.88. Sappi shares last traded at $0.88, with a volume of 1,500 shares traded.

The basic materials company reported ($0.08) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.10. Sappi had a negative net margin of 12.70% and a negative return on equity of 4.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sappi from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sappi has an average rating of “Hold”.

Sappi Stock Up 23.2%

The company has a market cap of $532.03 million, a P/E ratio of -0.79 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a fifty day moving average of $0.72 and a 200 day moving average of $0.97.

About Sappi

Sappi Limited, trading on the OTCMKTS as SPPJY, is a global pulp and paper company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. Originally established in 1936 as South African Pulp and Paper Industries, Sappi has grown into a diversified manufacturer of dissolving wood pulp, graphic papers, packaging and specialty papers. The company serves customers in over 150 countries and operates a network of mills and sales offices across three key regions: Europe, North America and South Africa.

Sappi’s product portfolio is organized into several main categories.