Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Strong-Buy" Rating

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Methanex to “strong-buy” from “buy,” while broader analyst sentiment remains “Moderate Buy,” with six Buy and five Hold ratings and an average price target of $68.56.
• Methanex reported quarterly earnings of $3.87 per share, below the $4.00 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $1.40 billion—up 75% year over year but below expectations of $1.43 billion.
• The stock opened at $55.55, within a 52-week range of $32.00 to $66.75; institutional investors own approximately 73.49% of outstanding shares.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on MEOH. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Methanex from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research cut Methanex from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on Methanex from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Methanex from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $56.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Methanex from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Methanex has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.56.

Methanex Price Performance

MEOH stock opened at $55.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Methanex has a 52-week low of $32.00 and a 52-week high of $66.75. The stock's 50 day moving average is $54.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.47. The company has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 53.93 and a beta of 0.60.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The specialty chemicals company reported $3.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.00 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $1.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. Methanex had a return on equity of 11.35% and a net margin of 2.07%.Methanex's revenue was up 75.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Methanex will post 8.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Methanex

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

Methanex Company Profile

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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