Asahi Kasei Corp. (OTCMKTS:AHKSY) Short Interest Up 115.6% in July

Key Points

• Short Interest Increase: Asahi Kasei Corp. experienced a significant 115.6% increase in short interest in July, rising from 6,400 shares to 13,800 shares by the end of the month.
• Quarterly Earnings Beat Expectations: The company reported earnings per share of $0.45 for the latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.27.
• Analyst Downgrade: CLSA downgraded Asahi Kasei's stock rating from “moderate buy” to “hold” in early June.

Asahi Kasei Corp. (OTCMKTS:AHKSY - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 13,800 shares, anincreaseof115.6% from the July 15th total of 6,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 26,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.5 days. Approximately0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Approximately0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 26,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.5 days.

Asahi Kasei Stock Up 2.2%

Asahi Kasei stock opened at $15.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Asahi Kasei has a 1-year low of $12.12 and a 1-year high of $15.80. The company has a market cap of $10.80 billion, a PE ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 0.51. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $13.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.80.

Asahi Kasei (OTCMKTS:AHKSY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $4.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.15 billion. Asahi Kasei had a return on equity of 7.48% and a net margin of 3.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, CLSA downgraded Asahi Kasei from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note 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.

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