Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Shares of Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. (NYSE:AXTA) saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday . 3,790,528 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 104% from the previous session’s volume of 1,860,417 shares.The stock last traded at $37.01 and had previously closed at $37.66.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AXTA shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Axalta Coating Systems from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Axalta Coating Systems from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup downgraded shares of Axalta Coating Systems from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $45.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Axalta Coating Systems in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Axalta Coating Systems from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Axalta Coating Systems currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.08.

Axalta Coating Systems Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.49. The firm has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.09. Axalta Coating Systems had a return on equity of 26.29% and a net margin of 7.41%. The company had revenue of $1.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. Axalta Coating Systems’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Axalta Coating Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Axalta Coating Systems during the 4th quarter valued at $87,850,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Axalta Coating Systems by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,321,994 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $387,439,000 after purchasing an additional 988,397 shares in the last quarter. PointState Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Axalta Coating Systems during the third quarter valued at $30,257,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Axalta Coating Systems by 35.4% in the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,620,459 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $55,452,000 after buying an additional 423,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group purchased a new position in Axalta Coating Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $13,512,000. 98.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Axalta Coating Systems

Axalta Coating Systems Ltd., through its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes high-performance coatings systems in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company operates through two segments, Performance Coatings and Mobility Coatings.