Nexa Resources (NYSE:NEXA) Raised to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Nexa Resources was upgraded by Morgan Stanley from "underweight" to "equal weight," though the stock's consensus analyst rating remains "Hold" with an average price target of $8.87.
• The company posted a quarterly beat — $0.60 EPS vs. $0.45 expected and $903M in revenue vs. $823M expected — and the stock traded up about 3.1%, opening at $11.29 with a market cap near $1.5B and a P/E of ~11.3.
• Institutional investors have been adding shares, notably Millennium Management (up ~249% in the quarter) and HSBC (up 47%), signaling increased institutional interest.

Nexa Resources (NYSE:NEXA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report released on Thursday.

NEXA has been the topic of several other research reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on Nexa Resources from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Zacks Research lowered Nexa Resources from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Nexa Resources to $14.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Nexa Resources in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nexa Resources from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $8.87.

Nexa Resources Trading Up 3.1%

NEXA opened at $11.29 on Thursday. Nexa Resources has a 12-month low of $4.44 and a 12-month high of $14.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 11.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.14 and a beta of 0.62. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $11.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.87.

Nexa Resources (NYSE:NEXA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $903.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $823.27 million. Nexa Resources had a net margin of 4.42% and a return on equity of 11.81%. As a group, research analysts expect that Nexa Resources will post 1.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Nexa Resources

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Nexa Resources by 47.0% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 16,454 shares of the company's stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 5,263 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Nexa Resources in the 4th quarter worth approximately $645,000. Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Nexa Resources in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Nexa Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $394,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Nexa Resources by 249.4% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 255,757 shares of the company's stock worth $2,263,000 after acquiring an additional 182,567 shares during the period.

Nexa Resources Company Profile

Nexa Resources SA is a Brazil-based metals and mining company with a primary focus on zinc and copper. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker NEXA, the firm develops, extracts and processes mineral resources for industrial applications worldwide. Headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil, Nexa is a leading participant in Latin America’s mining sector with a diversified portfolio of upstream and downstream operations.

The company’s operations span multiple mining and smelting complexes in Brazil’s Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso regions, as well as in Peru’s coastal and Andean zones.

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