Asahi Kasei Corp. (OTCMKTS:AHKSY) Short Interest Update

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) saw a significant growth in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 13,800 shares, agrowthof115.6% from the July 15th total of 6,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 26,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.5 days. Currently,0.0% of the company's stock are sold short. Currently,0.0% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 26,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, CLSA downgraded shares of Asahi Kasei from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Asahi Kasei Price Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS:AHKSY traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $17.04. The stock had a trading volume of 8,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 35,327. The company's 50-day moving average price is $14.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.87. The company has a market capitalization of $11.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.69 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Asahi Kasei has a fifty-two week low of $12.12 and a fifty-two week high of $17.26.

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

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.