Methanex (TSE:MX) Shares Up 13.9% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Methanex shares jumped 13.9% to C$100.00 in Friday trading, with volume rising 13% above the daily average.
• Analyst sentiment improved after National Bank Financial and CIBC upgraded the stock to “strong buy.” The consensus rating is “Buy,” although the average C$60 price target is well below the current share price.
• Methanex reported C$5.25 in quarterly EPS on C$1.98 billion in revenue, but profitability remained modest, with a 2.05% net margin and 3.50% return on equity. A company director also sold 2,000 shares in September.

Shares of Methanex Co. (TSE:MX - Get Free Report) NASDAQ: MEOH traded up 13.9% during trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as C$100.00 and last traded at C$100.00. Approximately 323,810 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 13% from the average daily volume of 287,237 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$87.77.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MX has been the topic of a number of research reports. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Methanex to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised Methanex from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of C$60.00.

Methanex Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day moving average is C$85.49 and its 200-day moving average is C$78.05. The stock has a market capitalization of C$7.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 112.94, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 122.11, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.07.

Methanex (TSE:MX - Get Free Report) NASDAQ: MEOH last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported C$5.25 EPS for the quarter. Methanex had a net margin of 2.05% and a return on equity of 3.50%. The company had revenue of C$1.98 billion for the quarter. Analysts forecast that Methanex Co. will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Alejandro Larrive sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$88.03, for a total transaction of C$176,060.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,009 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$705,032.27. This represents a 19.98% decrease in their position. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Methanex

Methanex is a Vancouver-based, publicly traded company and is the world's largest supplier of methanol globally. Methanex shares are listed for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada under the trading symbol 'MX' and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market in the United States under the trading symbol 'MEOH'. Methanex can be visited online at www.methanex.com.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.