Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) Short Interest Down 5.3% in August

Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,770,000 shares, a decrease of 5.3% from the July 31st total of 1,870,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 669,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Institutional Trading of Braskem

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MBB Public Markets I LLC boosted its holdings in Braskem by 69.5% in the 2nd quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 1,597,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,303,000 after buying an additional 654,806 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Braskem by 872.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 268,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,731,000 after acquiring an additional 240,744 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda grew its position in shares of Braskem by 266.9% in the fourth quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 239,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,113,000 after purchasing an additional 174,250 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP raised its stake in shares of Braskem by 197.1% during the 4th 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. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Braskem by 1.6% during the 2nd 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.

Braskem Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of BAK opened at $6.51 on Wednesday. Braskem has a 1 year low of $5.28 and a 1 year high of $10.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.25, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $6.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.64.

Braskem (NYSE:BAK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.48) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.78) by $0.30. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.56 billion. Braskem had a negative return on equity of 276.59% and a negative net margin of 12.98%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Braskem will post -1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BAK has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup raised shares of Braskem from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Braskem from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th.

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.