Asahi Kasei Co. (OTCMKTS:AHKSY) Short Interest Up 257.1% in May

Asahi Kasei Co. (OTCMKTS:AHKSY - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,500 shares, an increase of 257.1% from the May 15th total of 2,100 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 68,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.1 days.

Asahi Kasei Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of OTCMKTS:AHKSY traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $13.27. The stock had a trading volume of 34,242 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,624. Asahi Kasei has a 1 year low of $12.12 and a 1 year high of $15.80. The firm's 50 day moving average is $13.65 and its 200-day moving average is $13.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 0.47.

Asahi Kasei (OTCMKTS:AHKSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $5.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.21 billion. Asahi Kasei had a net margin of 2.77% and a return on equity of 7.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, CLSA lowered shares of Asahi Kasei from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th.

About Asahi Kasei

Asahi Kasei Corporation manufactures and sells chemicals. It offers caustic soda, chemical fertilizers, nitric acid, ammonia, acrylonitrile, methyl methacrylate, styrene, adipic acid, hexamethylene diamine, AH salt, propionitrile, sodium cyanide, acetonitrile, methacrylonitrile, cyclohexyl methacrylate, polyethylenes, polyethylenes powder, PMMA resin, polystyrene, polybutadiene rubbers, styrene/butadiene rubbers, clear styrenic copolymer, styrenic thermoplastic elastomer, hydrogenated styrenic elastomers, membranes and systems, functional materials, foams, purging compound, polyisocyanates, polycarbonatediol, aluminum paste, latex, photopolymers and platemaking systems, films, cyclohexanol, cyclohexane, and cyclohexene.