Braskem (NYSE:BAK) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Shares of Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday. The stock had previously closed at $1.45, but opened at $1.52. Braskem shares last traded at $1.5250, with a volume of 181,885 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BAK. Citigroup lowered shares of Braskem from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Braskem from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. HSBC cut shares of Braskem from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $6.50 to $1.50 in a report on Monday. UBS Group lowered shares of Braskem from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $4.00 to $1.50 in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Braskem in a report on Friday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Strong Sell” and a consensus price target of $2.56.

Braskem Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $1.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.02. The company has a market capitalization of $615.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.63, a PEG ratio of 0.08 and a beta of 1.56.

Braskem (NYSE:BAK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, June 26th. The company reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Braskem had a negative net margin of 7.28% and a negative return on equity of 67.75%. The business had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter. Equities research analysts forecast that Braskem S.A. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Braskem

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Braskem during the first quarter valued at $2,013,000. X Square Capital LLC boosted its position in Braskem by 117.6% during the 4th quarter. X Square Capital LLC now owns 185,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 100,000 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its stake in Braskem by 192.8% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 68,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 44,905 shares in the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Braskem in the 2nd quarter valued at about $89,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Braskem by 178,471.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 49,972 shares in the last quarter.

About Braskem

Braskem SA is a Brazilian petrochemical company headquartered in São Paulo. Established in 2002 through the combination of Odebrecht Química and the petrochemical company Copene, Braskem has developed into one of Latin America’s major producers of thermoplastic resins and basic petrochemicals.

The company manufactures polyethylene, polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which are used in packaging, construction, automotive components, consumer goods and other industrial applications.