Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Price Target Cut to $88.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan cut SQM’s price target from $94 to $88 while maintaining a “neutral” rating; the revised target implied 28.11% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $79.30, despite some firms issuing Buy or Strong Buy recommendations.
• SQM shares fell 4.3% to $68.69, even as the company reported quarterly earnings of $2.31 per share and revenue of $2.47 billion, beating estimates and increasing revenue 136.7% year over year.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $94.00 to $88.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the basic materials company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target points to a potential upside of 28.11% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $64.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. Finally, CLSA raised shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sociedad Quimica y Minera presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.30.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Trading Down 4.3%

Shares of SQM stock traded down $3.11 on Friday, hitting $68.69. 241,600 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,226,988. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.99. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $73.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.05. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a one year low of $40.58 and a one year high of $98.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 2.76.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The basic materials company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 136.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SQM. Castle Hook Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,257,000. Amundi raised its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 15.0% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 640,499 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $51,842,000 after purchasing an additional 83,738 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the first quarter worth $50,183,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 602.0% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 502,484 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $40,671,000 after buying an additional 430,900 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 7,083.3% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 289,701 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $19,931,000 after buying an additional 285,668 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 12.41% of the company's stock.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Company Profile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA NYSE: SQM, commonly known as SQM, is a Chilean mining and chemicals company headquartered in Santiago. Its operations are centered in northern Chile, where it extracts mineral resources and processes them into products used in agriculture, industry and technology.

SQM is one of the world's major producers of lithium and lithium derivatives, including lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide used in rechargeable batteries and other applications. The company also produces specialty plant nutrients and potassium-based fertilizers, as well as iodine and iodine derivatives used in areas such as healthcare, nutrition and industrial manufacturing.

In addition, SQM produces industrial chemicals, including potassium chloride, potassium sulfate and certain industrial salts.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.