Sappi (OTCMKTS:SPPJY) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Shares jumped pre-market from $1.06 to $1.13 (a ~6.6% gap up) and last traded at $1.13 on light volume (2,000 shares).
• Zacks Research upgraded Sappi from "strong sell" to "hold," and the stock's consensus analyst rating is currently "Hold" (one analyst).
• The company shows weak fundamentals with EPS of ($0.03) in the latest quarter (in line with estimates), a revenue miss ($1.29B vs. $1.34B expected), a negative net margin (‑5.31%), negative ROE, and a market cap of ~$683M.

Sappi Ltd. (OTCMKTS:SPPJY - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $1.06, but opened at $1.13. Sappi shares last traded at $1.13, with a volume of 2,000 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Zacks Research raised shares of Sappi from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold".

Sappi Stock Up 6.6%

The company has a market cap of $683.18 million, a P/E ratio of -2.46 and a beta of 0.69. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $1.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Sappi (OTCMKTS:SPPJY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The basic materials company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. Sappi had a negative net margin of 5.31% and a negative return on equity of 2.34%.

Sappi Company Profile

Sappi Limited, trading on the OTCMKTS as SPPJY, is a global pulp and paper company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. Originally established in 1936 as South African Pulp and Paper Industries, Sappi has grown into a diversified manufacturer of dissolving wood pulp, graphic papers, packaging and specialty papers. The company serves customers in over 150 countries and operates a network of mills and sales offices across three key regions: Europe, North America and South Africa.

Sappi’s product portfolio is organized into several main categories.

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