Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley cut its price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $77 to $72, while keeping an overweight rating. The new target still implies about 18.9% upside from the stock’s recent price.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed overall: the stock’s consensus rating is Hold with a consensus target price of $71.94, and recent moves from firms like Bank of America and Weiss Ratings have been notably bearish.
• LyondellBasell shares were trading around $60.55 on Monday, after the company recently reported better-than-expected EPS but lower revenue year over year. The stock remains well below its 52-week high of $83.94.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $77.00 to $72.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price suggests a potential upside of 18.91% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of LyondellBasell Industries from $68.00 to $48.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on LyondellBasell Industries from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered LyondellBasell Industries from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $71.94.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

Shares of LYB stock traded up $1.38 during trading on Monday, reaching $60.55. The company had a trading volume of 1,897,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,816,789. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $62.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.81. LyondellBasell Industries has a one year low of $41.58 and a one year high of $83.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.54 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $19.55 billion, a PE ratio of -24.28, a PEG ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 0.32.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.18. LyondellBasell Industries had a positive return on equity of 5.68% and a negative net margin of 2.68%.The company had revenue of $7.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.33 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries will post 9.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of LyondellBasell Industries

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LYB. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,544,711 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $586,486,000 after purchasing an additional 361,761 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,102,068 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $437,420,000 after buying an additional 399,130 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,843,930 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $426,242,000 after buying an additional 36,187 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 108.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,159,702 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $396,615,000 after buying an additional 4,770,260 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in LyondellBasell Industries by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,971,741 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $388,476,000 after buying an additional 1,300,271 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.20% of the company's stock.

About LyondellBasell Industries

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. NYSE: LYB is a global chemical company headquartered in Houston, Texas, that specializes in the production of polyolefins and advanced polymers. Through its extensive portfolio, the company supplies raw materials for a wide range of end markets, including packaging, automotive, construction, electronics and consumer goods. By combining proprietary process technologies with expertise in catalysts, LyondellBasell aims to deliver value-added solutions that enhance product performance and sustainability.

The company's integrated operations encompass the manufacture of olefins and polyolefins, advanced polymer products, chemical intermediates and refining activities.

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