Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Given New $94.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan lowered its SQM price target from $100 to $94 while maintaining a neutral rating, implying approximately 17.7% upside from the stock’s $79.88 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: MarketBeat reports an overall “Hold” consensus, with a $77.64 average price target, despite upgrades from Citigroup and Wall Street Zen.
• SQM reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.31 beating estimates and revenue rising 136.7% year over year to $2.47 billion. Institutional investors owned 12.41% of the company, with several major funds increasing their positions.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $100.00 to $94.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the basic materials company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price would suggest a potential upside of 17.68% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Citigroup raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their target price for the company from $97.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $64.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $105.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sociedad Quimica y Minera currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $77.64.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Trading Down 0.7%

SQM traded down $0.55 during trading on Friday, reaching $79.88. The company had a trading volume of 282,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,247,959. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $72.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.76. The company has a market cap of $22.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.47, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.98. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a 12-month low of $40.58 and a 12-month high of $98.00.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The basic materials company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.28. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 20.62% and a return on equity of 19.08%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 136.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post 7.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQM. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 198,789 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $7,898,000 after buying an additional 31,066 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 53.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 358,646 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $14,249,000 after acquiring an additional 125,506 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 20.4% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 20,886 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $737,000 after acquiring an additional 3,545 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 38.3% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 159,027 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,609,000 after acquiring an additional 44,062 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 3.0% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 124,575 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,394,000 after acquiring an additional 3,634 shares in the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Company Profile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA NYSE: SQM is a leading global producer of specialty chemicals and minerals headquartered in Santiago, Chile. The company focuses on the extraction and processing of key inputs for the agricultural, industrial and high‐tech sectors. Its core business activities include the mining of lithium, potassium and iodine, as well as the manufacture of value‐added products derived from these raw materials.

SQM's product portfolio spans lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide used in electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems; potassium chloride and potassium nitrate fertilizers designed for precision agriculture; and iodine and its derivatives for pharmaceutical, food and electronics applications.

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