Sasol (NYSE:SSL) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Sasol gapped down — the stock opened at $11.80 after a prior close of $13.60 and was last trading around $12.07 on heavy volume, with the report noting an intraday decline of about 8.7%.
• Analyst sentiment has turned negative: multiple recent downgrades from UBS, Goldman and others leave the consensus as an average rating of "Reduce" (four Holds and two Sells).
• Technical and balance-sheet context: the 50- and 200-day simple moving averages are $9.75 and $7.58 respectively, the company shows modest leverage (debt/equity 0.53), and institutional ownership is low at about 1.21%.

Sasol Ltd. (NYSE:SSL - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $13.60, but opened at $11.80. Sasol shares last traded at $12.0650, with a volume of 1,759,433 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SSL has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group lowered shares of Sasol from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Sasol from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Sasol in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Sasol in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Sasol from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce".

Sasol Trading Down 8.7%

The company's fifty day simple moving average is $9.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sasol

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SSL. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Sasol in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of Sasol by 232.5% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 5,606 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 3,920 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Sasol by 347.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,960 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 6,957 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sasol during the second quarter worth $52,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Sasol by 107.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,637 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 4,482 shares in the last quarter. 1.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sasol

Sasol Limited is an integrated energy and chemical company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. The company's core operations encompass the conversion of natural gas, coal and heavy hydrocarbons into liquid fuels and a wide array of chemical products. Sasol leverages proprietary Fischer-Tropsch and gas-to-liquids (GTL) technologies to deliver cleaner-burning diesel, jet fuel and naphtha, alongside solvents, surfactants and specialty polymers for industrial and consumer applications.

In addition to its GTL business, Sasol operates downstream facilities for the manufacture of alpha olefins, ethylene, propylene and other base-chemical intermediates.

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.