Rayonier Advanced Materials (NYSE:RYAM) Stock Price Up 7.9% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• RYAM shares rose 7.9% on Wednesday, trading as high as $7.58 before last changing hands at $7.80, though volume was far below normal.
• Analysts have turned increasingly bearish: recent downgrades from Wall Street Zen and Zacks Research helped push the stock to a consensus “Reduce” rating, even though the average price target remains $14.00.
• The company’s fundamentals remain weak, with a recent earnings miss, negative profit margins, and a high debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, despite some recent buying by hedge funds.

Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. (NYSE:RYAM - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 7.9% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $7.58 and last traded at $7.8010. 37,422 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 96% from the average session volume of 1,053,212 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on RYAM. Wall Street Zen downgraded Rayonier Advanced Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Zacks Research cut Rayonier Advanced Materials from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $14.00.

Rayonier Advanced Materials Stock Performance

The company's fifty day moving average price is $8.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.21, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $512.87 million, a PE ratio of -1.08 and a beta of 1.78.

Rayonier Advanced Materials (NYSE:RYAM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported ($1.22) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.62) by ($0.60). The business had revenue of $319.06 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $302.63 million. Rayonier Advanced Materials had a negative net margin of 32.86% and a negative return on equity of 43.24%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. will post -1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Rayonier Advanced Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,267,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials by 83.7% during the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 342,135 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,015,000 after purchasing an additional 155,902 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials by 28.2% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 422,927 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,682,000 after buying an additional 92,942 shares in the last quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. bought a new position in shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials in the first quarter valued at about $2,341,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Rayonier Advanced Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $2,150,000. 68.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Rayonier Advanced Materials Company Profile

Rayonier Advanced Materials, Inc is a publicly traded specialty bioproducts company focused on the production of high-purity cellulose and engineered wood products. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, the company operates a network of manufacturing facilities across North America, New Zealand and Europe. Its cellulose specialties business produces dissolving pulps and high-purity fibers that serve a range of end markets, including food and beverage, personal care, pharmaceuticals and textiles.

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