Arkema SA (OTCMKTS:ARKAY) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest in Arkema rose sharply in July, increasing 559.9% to 1,729 shares as of July 15 from 262 shares at the end of June. Even with the jump, short interest remains very low at about 0.0% of shares outstanding.
• Analyst sentiment is cautious, with the stock carrying a consensus rating of “Reduce.” Recent moves included multiple downgrades, and the current breakdown shows one Buy, five Hold, and two Sell ratings.
• Arkema’s latest earnings beat expectations, reporting $1.01 EPS versus the $0.91 forecast and revenue of $2.57 billion versus $2.52 billion expected. The company also reported a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.25, indicating solid liquidity.

Arkema SA (OTCMKTS:ARKAY - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,729 shares, a growth of 559.9% from the June 30th total of 262 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 3,426 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Arkema from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Arkema from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating on shares of Arkema in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Arkema from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets lowered shares of Arkema from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce".

Arkema Price Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS ARKAY opened at $63.54 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Arkema has a fifty-two week low of $56.28 and a fifty-two week high of $79.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.99. The firm has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a PE ratio of 254.15 and a beta of 0.86.

Arkema (OTCMKTS:ARKAY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.10. Arkema had a return on equity of 4.06% and a net margin of 0.46%.The company had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Arkema will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Arkema

Arkema SA is a global specialty chemicals and advanced materials company headquartered in Colombes, France. Established in 2004 as a spin-off from Total's chemicals division, the company offers a broad portfolio of high-performance materials designed to improve durability, thermal and chemical resistance, and environmental performance across diverse industries.

Arkema's operations are organized into four core segments. Adhesive Solutions delivers bonding, sealing, and coating technologies for markets such as packaging, medical devices, and consumer goods.

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