Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Methanex Co. (NASDAQ:MEOH) (TSE:MX)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $38.97, but opened at $42.50. Methanex shares last traded at $40.64, with a volume of 193,351 shares trading hands.

The specialty chemicals company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $935.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $920.10 million. Methanex had a net margin of 4.05% and a return on equity of 5.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays downgraded shares of Methanex from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $44.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Methanex from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Methanex in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Methanex from $51.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on Methanex from $62.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.25.

Institutional Trading of Methanex

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in shares of Methanex in the first quarter worth approximately $494,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Methanex in the first quarter worth $45,000. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of Methanex during the first quarter worth $779,000. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Methanex by 0.6% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 127,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $5,681,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in Methanex by 346.5% during the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 902 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.49% of the company’s stock.

Methanex Stock Up 7.4 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46 and a beta of 1.36.

Methanex Company Profile

Methanex Corporation produces and supplies methanol in China, Europe, the United States, South America, South Korea, Canada, and Asia. The company also purchases methanol produced by others under methanol offtake contracts and on the spot market. In addition, it owns and leases storage and terminal facilities.