Braskem (NYSE:BAK) Trading 3.9% Higher – Time to Buy?

Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) was up 3.9% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $3.64 and last traded at $3.62. Approximately 488,331 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average daily volume of 818,246 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Scotiabank cut shares of Braskem from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd.

Braskem Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $4.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.24. The company has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.08 and a beta of 2.06.

Braskem (NYSE:BAK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.39) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.38) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.52 billion. Braskem had a negative net margin of 9.88% and a negative return on equity of 439.59%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Braskem S.A. will post -0.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Braskem by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 19,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 3,126 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Braskem by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 180,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $698,000 after buying an additional 4,100 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Braskem by 876.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 4,871 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Braskem by 2.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 228,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,674,000 after buying an additional 5,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in Braskem in the third quarter valued at about $77,000.

About Braskem

Braskem SA, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells thermoplastic resins. The company operates through three segments: Brazil, United States and Europe, and Mexico. The Brazil segment produces and sells olefins, including ethylene, polymer and chemical grade propylene, butadiene, and butene-1; benzene, toluene, and xylenes products; fuels, such as automotive gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas, ethyl tertiary-butyl ether, and methyl tertiary-butyl ether; intermediates, such as cumene; aliphatics, aromatics, and hydrogenated solvents; and specialties comprising isoprene, dicyclopentadiene, piperylene, nonene, tetramer, polyisobutylene, and hydrocarbon resins.