JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Price

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has reduced its target price for Westlake (NYSE:WLK) stock from $75.00 to $73.00, indicating a potential downside of 7.31%.
• Westlake reported negative earnings of ($0.09) per share for the last quarter, missing expectations and showing a 7.9% decrease in revenue from the previous year.
• Despite recent downgrades by analysts, Westlake's stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $92.29.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $75.00 to $73.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price indicates a potential downside of 7.31% from the company's previous close.

WLK has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Westlake from $98.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Tudor Pickering upgraded shares of Westlake from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Westlake from $76.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Westlake from $117.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $92.29.

Westlake Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:WLK traded up $1.86 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $78.75. 362,329 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,017,964. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $79.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.81. Westlake has a 52-week low of $68.55 and a 52-week high of $153.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.47. The stock has a market cap of $10.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -148.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 81.25 and a beta of 0.92.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.15). Westlake had a positive return on equity of 1.26% and a negative net margin of 0.57%. The firm had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 732.7% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 993,150 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $113,865,000 after purchasing an additional 873,888 shares in the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in Westlake during the 2nd quarter valued at about $62,508,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Westlake during the 1st quarter valued at about $72,974,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Westlake by 366.7% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 901,229 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $90,150,000 after acquiring an additional 708,142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Westlake by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,900,025 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $390,120,000 after purchasing an additional 586,178 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company's stock.

About Westlake

Westlake Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of performance and essential materials, and housing and infrastructure products in the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Taiwan, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Performance and Essential Materials and Housing and Infrastructure Products.

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