Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Given a $70.00 Price Target at National Bank Financial

Key Points

• National Bank Financial initiated coverage on Methanex with an outperform rating and a $70 price target, implying about 37% upside from the stock’s current price.
• Analyst views remain mixed overall: recent changes include downgrades from Weiss Ratings, JPMorgan, and Zacks, while Scotiabank and Raymond James raised their targets. The broader consensus from MarketBeat is still Hold with an average target price of $68.78.
• Methanex shares rose 4.8% to $51.00 on Monday, even after its latest quarterly results missed EPS and revenue estimates. The company reported $0.30 EPS versus expectations of $0.38, though revenue still increased 8.7% year over year.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX has been assigned a $70.00 price objective by research analysts at National Bank Financial in a report released on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. National Bank Financial's price objective points to a potential upside of 37.26% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on MEOH. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Methanex from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Methanex from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $56.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Methanex from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Zacks Research downgraded Methanex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on Methanex from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Methanex presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $68.78.

Methanex Stock Up 4.8%

Shares of NASDAQ MEOH traded up $2.34 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $51.00. The company had a trading volume of 665,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,126,204. Methanex has a 1-year low of $32.00 and a 1-year high of $66.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm's 50 day moving average is $56.40 and its 200-day moving average is $53.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -104.12 and a beta of 0.60.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.08). Methanex had a positive return on equity of 2.96% and a negative net margin of 1.25%.The firm had revenue of $957.42 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $964.76 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. Methanex's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Methanex will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Methanex

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Methanex by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 22,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $800,000 after buying an additional 848 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Methanex in the 2nd quarter valued at about $419,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Methanex by 15.7% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 249,231 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $8,250,000 after acquiring an additional 33,827 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. acquired a new stake in Methanex during the second quarter worth approximately $166,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Methanex by 327.0% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 47,284 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,565,000 after acquiring an additional 36,211 shares during the period. 73.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Methanex

Methanex Corporation is a Vancouver, Canada–based company and one of the world's largest producers and suppliers of methanol. The company manufactures methanol, a key feedstock for a wide range of chemical products and industrial applications. Methanex markets its product to customers in energy, plastics, paints and coatings, and various chemical sectors, positioning the company as a critical link in the global supply chain for basic chemicals.

The company's core product, methanol, serves as a building block for downstream chemicals such as formaldehyde, acetic acid and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE).

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