Braskem (NYSE:BAK) Downgraded to “Neutral” Rating by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Braskem (NYSE:BAK) was downgraded by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on BAK. Citigroup downgraded shares of Braskem from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research lowered Braskem from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Bank of America cut Braskem from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $2.80 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Bradesco Corretora lowered Braskem from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $1.50 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of Braskem in a report on Monday, April 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Braskem presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average target price of $3.40.

Braskem Price Performance

BAK stock opened at $2.52 on Tuesday. Braskem has a 1 year low of $2.32 and a 1 year high of $5.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.00 billion, a PE ratio of -0.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.05 and a beta of 1.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.68.

Braskem (NYSE:BAK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $3.51 billion during 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, equities research analysts expect that Braskem will post 3.1 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Braskem

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new position in shares of Braskem during the third quarter worth $117,000. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its stake in Braskem by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 44,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 9,938 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Braskem during the 4th quarter worth about $79,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Braskem by 94.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 32,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 15,630 shares during the period. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Braskem during the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,000.

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.