Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) Short Interest Up 12.2% in October

Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,560,000 shares, a growth of 12.2% from the October 15th total of 1,390,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 643,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Braskem

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Boston Partners purchased a new position in Braskem in the 1st quarter valued at about $627,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Braskem by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 111,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,807 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Braskem by 872.0% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 268,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,731,000 after purchasing an additional 240,744 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC increased its position in Braskem by 69.5% during the 2nd quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 1,597,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,303,000 after purchasing an additional 654,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Braskem by 60.9% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 41,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 15,600 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BAK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Braskem from $10.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Citigroup raised shares of Braskem from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Braskem from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $7.70 to $10.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th.

Braskem Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BAK traded down $0.09 during trading on Monday, hitting $5.10. 629,864 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 806,468. Braskem has a 1 year low of $5.09 and a 1 year high of $10.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.25, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $6.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.66. The company has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.44 and a beta of 2.05.

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.