Morgan Advanced Materials (LON:MGAM) Shares Down 13.1% After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Morgan Advanced Materials plc experienced a significant stock drop of 13.1%, closing at GBX 196 ($2.64) after trading as low as GBX 167 ($2.25).
• The company reported earnings of GBX 10.80 ($0.15) per share for the quarter, with analysts predicting a total of 32.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
• Insider activity was notable as insiders sold a total of 93,951 shares worth approximately $20 million over the past three months.

Morgan Advanced Materials plc (LON:MGAM - Get Free Report) shares dropped 13.1% during mid-day trading 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 ($2.25) and last traded at GBX 196 ($2.64). Approximately 2,395,195 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 89% from the average daily volume of 1,269,546 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 225.50 ($3.03).

Separately, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Morgan Advanced Materials from GBX 265 ($3.56) to GBX 240 ($3.23) and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Advanced Materials

In other news, insider Pete Raby sold 52,587 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 214 ($2.88), for a total transaction of £112,536.18 ($151,298.98). Also, insider Richard Armitage sold 26,348 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 212 ($2.85), for a total value of £55,857.76 ($75,097.82). Insiders sold a total of 93,951 shares of company stock valued at $20,022,786 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.69% of the company's stock.

Morgan Advanced Materials Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 103.31. The firm has a market cap of £563.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.34. The stock's 50-day moving average price is GBX 220.21 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 219.89.

Morgan Advanced Materials (LON:MGAM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Advanced Materials plc will post 32.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Advanced Materials Company Profile

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.