Arkema (OTCMKTS:ARKAY) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Arkema shares fell 3.2%, opening at $66.01 versus a prior close of $68.03 and last trading near $65.90. The stock remains below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly cautious: six analysts rate the stock “Hold,” one rates it “Buy” and one “Sell,” resulting in a consensus “Hold” rating. Goldman Sachs downgraded the shares to “Neutral,” while Barclays raised its rating to “Hold.”
• Arkema beat quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.98 versus the $1.86 consensus, but revenue of $2.79 billion missed estimates of $2.86 billion. The company trades at a very high reported P/E ratio of 227.1, with analysts expecting full-year EPS of $3.68.

Arkema SA (OTCMKTS:ARKAY - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $68.03, but opened at $66.01. Arkema shares last traded at $65.90, with a volume of 584 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ARKAY. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Arkema from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Arkema in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Arkema from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold".

Arkema Trading Down 3.2%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $67.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.00. The company has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of 227.10 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Arkema (OTCMKTS:ARKAY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.86 billion. Arkema had a return on equity of 4.30% and a net margin of 0.67%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arkema SA will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arkema Company Profile

Arkema is a France-based specialty materials company that develops and manufactures high-performance materials for industrial and consumer applications. Its portfolio includes advanced polymers, adhesives, coating materials, specialty additives and other chemical products designed to improve durability, performance and sustainability.

The company serves industries such as automotive, construction, consumer goods, electronics, energy, packaging, sports and healthcare. Its products include specialty adhesives, acrylic and fluoropolymer materials, technical resins, coating solutions and materials used in lightweight, durable and lower-impact applications.

Arkema was established in 2004 following the reorganization of Total's chemicals businesses and has expanded into a global specialty materials group with operations and customers across Europe, North America, Asia and other international markets.

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