Short Interest in Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) Decreases By 13.0%

Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,540,000 shares, a decrease of 13.0% from the August 15th total of 1,770,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 662,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BAK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Braskem from $10.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Braskem from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Braskem from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $7.70 to $10.00 in a research note on Wednesday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Braskem by 60.9% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 41,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 15,600 shares during the period. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Braskem during the first quarter worth approximately $627,000. Jump Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Braskem by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 67,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $594,000 after acquiring an additional 2,790 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Braskem by 1.6% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 111,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807 shares during the period. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP boosted its holdings in shares of Braskem by 197.1% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 141,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 94,099 shares during the period.

Braskem Trading Up 5.2 %

Shares of NYSE:BAK traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $7.27. 2,232,286 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 854,763. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.25, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $6.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.52. Braskem has a 1 year low of $5.28 and a 1 year high of $10.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.25 and a beta of 2.02.

Braskem (NYSE:BAK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.78) by $0.30. Braskem had a negative return on equity of 276.59% and a negative net margin of 12.98%. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.56 billion. Equities analysts expect that Braskem will post -1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

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.