Raymond James Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Stock

Key Points

• Raymond James raised its price target on Methanex from $52 to $65, maintaining a "market perform" rating and implying roughly a 12.08% upside from the current price.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans positive: UBS raised its target to $70 with a "buy," and MarketBeat's consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a $57 target (1 Strong Buy, 6 Buy, 5 Hold).
• Methanex missed expectations for the quarter with an EPS of −$0.14 vs. $0.81 expected and a slight revenue shortfall, yet the stock trades near $58 and about 73.5% of shares are institutionally owned.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX had its target price increased by analysts at Raymond James Financial from $52.00 to $65.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a "market perform" rating on the specialty chemicals company's stock. Raymond James Financial's price objective points to a potential upside of 12.08% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Methanex in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Methanex in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Methanex from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lifted their price objective on shares of Methanex from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Methanex from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.00.

Methanex Stock Performance

NASDAQ MEOH traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $57.99. 533,070 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,255,098. The business's fifty day moving average price is $53.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.43 and a beta of 0.56. Methanex has a 52 week low of $26.47 and a 52 week high of $66.75.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.81 by ($0.95). The business had revenue of $968.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. Methanex had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 5.35%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Methanex will post 4.32 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Methanex

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MEOH. Amundi boosted its position in Methanex by 3.9% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 22,791 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $800,000 after purchasing an additional 848 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Methanex during the 2nd quarter worth $419,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Methanex by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 249,231 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $8,250,000 after purchasing an additional 33,827 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Methanex in the 2nd quarter valued at $166,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Methanex by 327.0% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 47,284 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,565,000 after purchasing an additional 36,211 shares in the last quarter. 73.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Methanex

Methanex Corporation is a Vancouver, Canada–based company and one of the world's largest producers and suppliers of methanol. The company manufactures methanol, a key feedstock for a wide range of chemical products and industrial applications. Methanex markets its product to customers in energy, plastics, paints and coatings, and various chemical sectors, positioning the company as a critical link in the global supply chain for basic chemicals.

The company's core product, methanol, serves as a building block for downstream chemicals such as formaldehyde, acetic acid and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE).

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