Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Alcoa Co. (NYSE:AA)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $38.78, but opened at $37.60. Alcoa shares last traded at $36.64, with a volume of 2,427,577 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AA shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Alcoa from $48.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Alcoa from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Alcoa from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Alcoa from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Alcoa from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.36.

Alcoa Stock Down 0.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The business has a 50-day moving average of $40.33 and a 200-day moving average of $37.66.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.13. Alcoa had a return on equity of 5.48% and a net margin of 0.50%. As a group, analysts predict that Alcoa Co. will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AA. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC raised its stake in Alcoa by 4,023.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC now owns 10,795,880 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $416,505,000 after purchasing an additional 10,534,036 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Alcoa by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,563,645 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $368,965,000 after purchasing an additional 1,805,915 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co raised its position in shares of Alcoa by 11,317.8% during the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 1,427,799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,084,000 after buying an additional 1,415,294 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Alcoa by 42.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,193,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $161,838,000 after buying an additional 1,239,479 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Alcoa during the third quarter worth about $36,165,000.

Alcoa Company Profile

Alcoa Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells bauxite, alumina, and aluminum products in the United States, Spain, Australia, Iceland, Norway, Brazil, Canada, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Alumina and Aluminum. It engages in bauxite mining operations; and processes bauxite into alumina and sells it to customers who process it into industrial chemical products, as well as aluminum smelting and casting businesses.