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

Braskem S.A. (NYSE:BAK) was the target of 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 daily trading volume, of 643,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on BAK. UBS Group upgraded shares of Braskem from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $7.70 to $10.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Braskem from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Braskem from $10.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th.

Braskem Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of BAK traded down $0.09 during trading on Monday, reaching $5.10. 629,864 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 806,468. Braskem has a twelve month low of $5.09 and a twelve month high of $10.98. The stock has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of -1.44 and a beta of 2.05. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 23.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Braskem

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of Braskem by 106.8% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 90,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $666,000 after acquiring an additional 46,858 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Braskem by 2.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 228,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,674,000 after purchasing an additional 5,124 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Braskem by 329.1% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 176,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,298,000 after purchasing an additional 135,600 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Braskem in the third quarter valued at approximately $123,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in Braskem in the third quarter worth approximately $2,341,000.

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.