Braskem (NYSE:BAK) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Braskem Trading Down 4.4%

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $3.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.62. The firm has a market cap of $902.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.14 and a beta of 1.61.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Braskem

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Braskem in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,013,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Braskem by 178,471.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,000 after buying an additional 49,972 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in shares of Braskem in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Braskem during the first quarter worth $157,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Braskem by 222.1% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 12,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 8,832 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.