Morgan Stanley Cuts Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) Price Target to $36.00

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) had its price objective lowered by Morgan Stanley from $40.00 to $36.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com cut Axalta Coating Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wolfe Research upgraded Axalta Coating Systems from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $41.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Axalta Coating Systems from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $42.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $37.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Axalta Coating Systems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.60.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AXTA opened at $31.08 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $32.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.47. Axalta Coating Systems has a 12 month low of $27.70 and a 12 month high of $41.66.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Axalta Coating Systems had a net margin of 7.41% and a return on equity of 26.29%. The company’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Axalta Coating Systems will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Troy D. Weaver sold 10,457 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.57, for a total transaction of $392,869.49. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,814,180.85. This represents a 12.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Axalta Coating Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 116.3% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 824 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. raised its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 11,757.1% in the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 830 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 105.9% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 949 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 60.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 35.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,093 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.28% of the company’s stock.

About Axalta Coating Systems

Axalta Coating Systems Ltd., through its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes high-performance coatings systems in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company operates through two segments, Performance Coatings and Mobility Coatings.