Basf Se (OTCMKTS:BASFY) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest in BASFY jumped sharply in July, rising 697% to 27,649 shares as of July 15 from 3,469 shares at the end of June. Despite the increase, short interest remains very low at 0.0% of shares outstanding, with just 0.1 days to cover.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive, with recent reiterations and upgrades including buy ratings from Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley, and an upgrade from Kepler Capital Markets. The stock currently carries an average rating of “Moderate Buy.”
• BASF reported solid quarterly results, posting $0.39 EPS versus the $0.31 estimate and revenue of $18.74 billion, above expectations. The company also noted a market cap of about $49.23 billion and shares opened at $13.79, slightly down on the day.

Basf Se (OTCMKTS:BASFY - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 27,649 shares, an increase of 697.0% from the June 30th total of 3,469 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 310,938 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.1 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BASFY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Basf in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Kepler Capital Markets raised Basf from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Basf in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Basf in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

Basf Stock Down 0.5%

Basf stock opened at $13.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Basf has a 1-year low of $11.93 and a 1-year high of $16.25. The company has a market cap of $49.23 billion, a PE ratio of 23.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.74. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $14.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.35.

Basf (OTCMKTS:BASFY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.08. Basf had a net margin of 2.91% and a return on equity of 3.84%. The firm had revenue of $18.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.44 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Basf will post 0.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Basf Company Profile

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.

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