Sasol (NYSE:SSL) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Sasol shares gapped up premarket from $10.60 to an $11.26 open and last traded around $11.27 on volume of ~1.66 million shares, trading well above its 50‑day ($7.71) and 200‑day ($6.88) moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed — recent downgrades (Wall Street Zen, UBS) and upgrades (Zacks) leave the stock with an average MarketBeat rating of "Hold" (1 Strong Buy, 3 Holds, 2 Sells).
• Hedge funds have been active: Millennium Management raised its stake by 75.7% and Jane Street by 31.9%, though only about 1.21% of the stock is currently held by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of Sasol Ltd. (NYSE:SSL - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $10.60, but opened at $11.26. Sasol shares last traded at $11.2740, with a volume of 1,659,504 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SSL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sasol from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Sasol in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group cut Sasol from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research raised Sasol from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Sasol in a report on Friday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold".

Sasol Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $7.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sasol

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Sasol by 75.7% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,450,355 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $6,135,000 after purchasing an additional 624,911 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sasol by 31.9% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 154,700 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $654,000 after purchasing an additional 37,412 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sasol during the second quarter worth about $52,000. Savant Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sasol in the second quarter valued at approximately $160,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Sasol by 11.9% during the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 767,312 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $3,392,000 after buying an additional 81,769 shares during the period. 1.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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