Bank of America Increases Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM) Price Target to $53.00

Key Points

• Bank of America raised its price target on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $49 to $53 but maintained an "underperform" rating, with the $53 target implying roughly a 32.08% downside from the current share price.
• Analysts are mixed: MarketBeat shows a consensus "Hold" with an average price target of $71.42, while firms like JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank have significantly higher targets ($93 and $91) and more bullish ratings.
• SQM's latest quarter posted an EPS miss ($0.64 vs. $0.75 expected) despite revenue rising 23.3% year‑over‑year; the company remains a major producer of lithium, potassium and iodine for EV batteries, agriculture and industrial uses.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by equities researchers at Bank of America from $49.00 to $53.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "underperform" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Bank of America's target price suggests a potential downside of 32.08% from the company's current price.

SQM has been the topic of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $63.00 price target (up from $45.00) on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $79.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research lowered Sociedad Quimica y Minera from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Sociedad Quimica y Minera from $88.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $71.42.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Stock Performance

NYSE:SQM opened at $78.03 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $75.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.37. Sociedad Quimica y Minera has a twelve month low of $29.36 and a twelve month high of $86.13. The company has a market capitalization of $22.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.03 and a beta of 0.99.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.75 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.24 billion. Sociedad Quimica y Minera had a net margin of 12.85% and a return on equity of 9.69%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Sociedad Quimica y Minera will post -1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sociedad Quimica y Minera

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 138.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 441 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera during the third quarter worth $43,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 656 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Finally, Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera in the third quarter valued at $49,000. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sociedad Quimica y Minera Company Profile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA NYSE: SQM is a leading global producer of specialty chemicals and minerals headquartered in Santiago, Chile. The company focuses on the extraction and processing of key inputs for the agricultural, industrial and high‐tech sectors. Its core business activities include the mining of lithium, potassium and iodine, as well as the manufacture of value‐added products derived from these raw materials.

SQM's product portfolio spans lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide used in electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems; potassium chloride and potassium nitrate fertilizers designed for precision agriculture; and iodine and its derivatives for pharmaceutical, food and electronics applications.

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.