Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Westlake (NYSE:WLK) Stock Price

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) had its target price dropped by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $130.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 13.13% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Westlake from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America upgraded Westlake from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $159.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Westlake from $170.00 to $167.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Westlake from $171.00 to $165.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Westlake from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $152.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.85.

Westlake Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE WLK opened at $114.91 on Monday. Westlake has a one year low of $108.95 and a one year high of $162.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 161.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.18.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.21 by ($0.80). Westlake had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 0.81%. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Westlake will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Tsung-Hung Chao sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.08, for a total value of $225,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,004,758.72. This trade represents a 18.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WLK. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 43.2% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 318 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC grew its position in Westlake by 8,400.0% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Westlake by 72.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 523 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Westlake by 84.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 531 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Westlake in the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. 28.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Westlake Company Profile

Westlake Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of performance and essential materials, and housing and infrastructure products in the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Taiwan, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Performance and Essential Materials and Housing and Infrastructure Products.