Walleye Capital LLC Purchases New Position in Westlake Corporation $WLK

Key Points

• Walleye Capital acquired 82,847 Westlake shares worth approximately $6.05 million during the second quarter, joining other institutions that increased or initiated positions. Institutional investors collectively own 28.4% of WLK.
• Westlake reported quarterly EPS of $2.01, beating estimates of $1.83, while revenue rose 10.8% year over year to $3.27 billion. Shares opened at $79.53, well below their 52-week high of $124.23.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $93.92 price target, despite several recent target reductions. Separately, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares for roughly $3.12 million.

Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Westlake Corporation (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 82,847 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $6,048,000. Walleye Capital LLC owned 0.06% of Westlake at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WLK. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,036,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Westlake by 28.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 236,986 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $27,685,000 after buying an additional 52,551 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its stake in Westlake by 149.2% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 17,681 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,065,000 after buying an additional 10,586 shares during the last quarter. Amundi acquired a new stake in shares of Westlake during the first quarter worth approximately $233,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Westlake by 23.2% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 44,459 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $5,194,000 after acquiring an additional 8,361 shares during the last quarter. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Stock Performance

Shares of Westlake stock opened at $79.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.64. Westlake Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $56.33 and a fifty-two week high of $124.23. The firm has a market cap of $10.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.30 and a beta of 0.63.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. Westlake had a positive return on equity of 0.93% and a negative net margin of 10.94%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.11) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Westlake Corporation will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Westlake from $106.00 to $92.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $85.00 price objective on Westlake in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Westlake from $110.00 to $88.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Westlake from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Westlake from $127.00 to $104.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $93.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Westlake

In other news, Chairman Albert Chao sold 38,873 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.28, for a total transaction of $3,120,724.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 642,880 shares in the company, valued at $51,610,406.40. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Westlake Company Profile

Westlake Corp. is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, polymers and building products, serving customers across industrial and residential markets. The company's core operations encompass the production of vinyls—primarily polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and its key feedstock vinyl chloride monomer (VCM)—as well as chlor-alkali products including caustic soda and chlorine. In addition, Westlake produces ethylene, propylene and specialty elastomers, along with construction-related materials such as vinyl siding, trim, windows and roofing systems.

Operating a network of vertically integrated plants and distribution centers, Westlake serves markets in North America, Europe and Asia.

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