Basf (OTCMKTS:BASFY) Sees Large Volume Increase - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Trading volume rose about 11%, with ~194,164 shares traded and the stock moving from a $14.85 close to a last trade of $15.14.
• Analysts are mixed and the consensus is "Hold": 1 Strong Buy, 3 Buy, 4 Hold and 1 Sell, with recent upgrades including Deutsche Bank to Buy and Citigroup reiterating Buy.
• BASF missed quarterly EPS (loss of $0.12 vs. $0.30 expected) but reported a revenue beat ($16.56B vs. $14.32B), and analysts expect about 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Basf Se (OTCMKTS:BASFY - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 194,164 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 11% from the previous session's volume of 174,819 shares.The stock last traded at $15.14 and had previously closed at $14.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Basf in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Kepler Capital Markets restated a "hold" rating on shares of Basf in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Basf from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Zacks Research upgraded Basf from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upgraded Basf from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Basf Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $53.75 billion, a PE ratio of 29.52, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.93 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The business has a 50-day moving average of $14.25 and a 200 day moving average of $13.26.

Basf (OTCMKTS:BASFY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The basic materials company reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.42). Basf had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 4.37%. The firm had revenue of $16.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.32 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Basf Se will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Basf

BASF SE is a Germany-based chemical company founded in 1865 (originally Badische Anilin- & Soda-Fabrik) and headquartered in Ludwigshafen. It is one of the world's largest chemical producers, supplying raw materials, intermediates and finished chemical products to a broad range of industries including automotive, construction, agriculture, consumer goods, electronics and industrial manufacturing. The company combines large-scale production with global commercial and logistics networks to serve customers in many end markets.

BASF's activities span basic and specialty chemicals, performance materials, functional additives, catalysts and coatings, as well as products for nutrition and personal care.

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.