Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) Short Interest Update

Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 4,548,904 shares, an increase of 46.0% from the December 15th total of 3,116,332 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,098,722 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days. Based on an average daily volume of 3,098,722 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Axalta Coating Systems from $42.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Vertical Research lowered shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $35.00 target price (down from $42.00) on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Axalta Coating Systems has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.56.

Axalta Coating Systems Price Performance

AXTA opened at $33.52 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $30.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.02. Axalta Coating Systems has a 12-month low of $26.28 and a 12-month high of $38.37.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.03. Axalta Coating Systems had a return on equity of 24.92% and a net margin of 8.81%.The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Axalta Coating Systems has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.600-0.600 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 2.500-2.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Axalta Coating Systems will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axalta Coating Systems

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 22.2% during the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 717,059 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $21,289,000 after purchasing an additional 130,347 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in Axalta Coating Systems by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 166,639 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,769,000 after buying an additional 32,196 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 56.0% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 645,464 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $19,280,000 after buying an additional 231,721 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 211.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 141,253 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,043,000 after buying an additional 95,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in Axalta Coating Systems by 185.9% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 139,240 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,134,000 after acquiring an additional 90,546 shares during the last quarter. 98.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Axalta Coating Systems Company Profile

Axalta Coating Systems is a global leader in the development, manufacture and sale of liquid and powder coatings. The company’s product portfolio spans refinish coatings for the automotive collision repair market, original equipment manufacturer (OEM) coatings for new vehicle production, and industrial coatings including electrodeposition (E-coat) and powder coatings for a variety of sectors such as architecture, heavy equipment and general industrial applications.

Tracing its roots to the 19th century and rebranded as Axalta following its separation from DuPont Performance Coatings in 2013, the company has built a presence in more than 100 countries.