Braskem (NYSE:BAK) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $2.22 and last traded at $2.2650, with a volume of 3296150 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $2.37.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Braskem Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $3.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.61. The firm has a market cap of $958.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.13 and a beta of 1.61.

Braskem (NYSE:BAK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $3.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.39 billion. Braskem had a negative return on equity of 23.17% and a negative net margin of 13.72%. As a group, analysts forecast that Braskem S.A. will post 1.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Braskem

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BAK. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Braskem during the 1st quarter worth $2,013,000. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC acquired a new stake in Braskem during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $107,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Braskem during the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,000. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Braskem by 94.7% in the 3rd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 32,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 15,630 shares in the last quarter.

Braskem Company Profile

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.