Morgan Advanced Materials (LON:MGAM) Stock Price Down 12.5% on Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Morgan Advanced Materials shares fell by 12.5% to GBX 197.28 ($2.64) after closing at GBX 225.50 ($3.01), with trading volume increasing significantly to 5.5 million shares.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of GBX 10.80 ($0.14), along with a net margin of 6.17% and a return on equity of 19.02%.
• Insider sales totaled 93,951 shares worth approximately $20 million over the last quarter, indicating possible concerns from company executives regarding stock performance.

Morgan Advanced Materials plc (LON:MGAM - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 12.5% on Thursday after Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from GBX 275 to GBX 250. Royal Bank Of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Morgan Advanced Materials traded as low as GBX 167 ($2.24) and last traded at GBX 197.28 ($2.65). 5,547,689 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 330% from the average session volume of 1,290,286 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 225.50 ($3.03).

Separately, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Advanced Materials from GBX 265 ($3.56) to GBX 240 ($3.22) and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday.

Insider Activity at Morgan Advanced Materials

In related news, insider Richard Armitage sold 26,348 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 212 ($2.85), for a total transaction of £55,857.76 ($75,027.21). Also, insider Pete Raby sold 52,587 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 214 ($2.87), for a total transaction of £112,536.18 ($151,156.72). Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 93,951 shares of company stock worth $20,022,786. 1.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Advanced Materials Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of £557.00 million, a PE ratio of 8.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.34. The stock's fifty day moving average price is GBX 219.93 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 219.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 103.31, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Morgan Advanced Materials (LON:MGAM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported GBX 10.80 ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Morgan Advanced Materials had a net margin of 6.17% and a return on equity of 19.02%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Morgan Advanced Materials plc will post 32.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Morgan Advanced Materials

Morgan Advanced Materials plc operates as a materials science and application engineering company primarily the United Kingdom. It serves customers in the industrial, transportation, petrochemical and chemical, energy, semiconductor and electronics, healthcare, and security and defense markets. The company was formerly known as The Morgan Crucible Company plc and changed its name to Morgan Advanced Materials plc in March 2013.