Short Interest in Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) Rises By 39.3%

Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,050,000 shares, a growth of 39.3% from the January 31st total of 2,190,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 995,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Braskem

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Braskem in the 4th quarter worth approximately $164,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Braskem by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 180,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Braskem by 55.3% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 46,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 16,545 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Braskem by 431.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 134,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 109,433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Braskem by 47.2% during the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 133,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 42,828 shares during the last quarter.

Braskem Trading Up 1.0 %

BAK stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $3.56. The company had a trading volume of 735,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 821,929. Braskem has a 1 year low of $3.42 and a 1 year high of $10.98. The company has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.00 and a beta of 2.03. The company has a 50 day moving average of $4.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.38.

Braskem (NYSE:BAK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported ($0.39) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.38) by ($0.01). Braskem had a negative return on equity of 439.59% and a negative net margin of 9.88%. The company had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.52 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Braskem will post -0.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Braskem Company Profile

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.