Braskem (NYSE:BAK) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $2.67, but opened at $2.51. Braskem shares last traded at $2.45, with a volume of 756,877 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Braskem from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $5.50 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Braskem in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Bradesco Corretora downgraded Braskem from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $1.50 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Bank of America lowered shares of Braskem from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $2.80 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Braskem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $3.40.

Braskem Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.06 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $3.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.69.

Braskem (NYSE:BAK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $3.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.39 billion. Braskem had a negative return on equity of 23.17% and a negative net margin of 13.72%. On average, research analysts forecast that Braskem S.A. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Braskem

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd bought a new stake in Braskem in the first quarter valued at $2,013,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Braskem by 619.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 265,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 228,588 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Braskem by 607.1% during the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 263,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $865,000 after acquiring an additional 226,467 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Braskem during the 4th quarter valued at about $477,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in Braskem by 193.6% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 220,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $652,000 after acquiring an additional 145,655 shares during 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.