Basf Se (OTCMKTS:BASFY) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Basf Se (OTCMKTS:BASFY) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 142,598 shares, a growth of 48.6% from the February 26th total of 95,941 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 338,463 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.4 days.

Basf Price Performance

Basf stock traded up $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $14.94. 195,437 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 173,284. Basf has a 1-year low of $10.75 and a 1-year high of $15.60. The firm has a market cap of $53.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $14.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Basf (OTCMKTS:BASFY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The basic materials company reported ($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.42). Basf had a return on equity of 4.37% and a net margin of 2.59%.The company had revenue of $16.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Basf will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Basf from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Basf from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Berenberg Bank upgraded Basf from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Basf in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Santander cut Basf to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Basf Company Profile

BASF SE is a Germany-based chemical company founded in 1865 (originally Badische Anilin- & Soda-Fabrik) and headquartered in Ludwigshafen. It is one of the world’s largest chemical producers, supplying raw materials, intermediates and finished chemical products to a broad range of industries including automotive, construction, agriculture, consumer goods, electronics and industrial manufacturing. The company combines large-scale production with global commercial and logistics networks to serve customers in many end markets.

BASF’s activities span basic and specialty chemicals, performance materials, functional additives, catalysts and coatings, as well as products for nutrition and personal care.