Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM) gapped down before the market opened on Friday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on the stock from $35.00 to $31.00. The stock had previously closed at $39.63, but opened at $38.57. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a hold rating on the stock. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile shares last traded at $38.30, with a volume of 220,720 shares changing hands.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Berenberg Bank began coverage on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $47.00 to $38.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $62.80 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.06.

Institutional Trading of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SQM. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the third quarter valued at about $560,000. MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the third quarter valued at $202,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 8.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 265,545 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,068,000 after purchasing an additional 21,778 shares during the last quarter. Concentric Capital Strategies LP purchased a new position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,213,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the 3rd quarter valued at about $834,000. 12.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Down 4.2 %

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market cap of $10.85 billion, a PE ratio of 359.45 and a beta of 1.03.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a return on equity of 23.15% and a net margin of 0.48%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.03 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post -0.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA operates as a mining company worldwide. The company offers specialty plant nutrients, including sodium potassium nitrate, specialty blends, and other specialty fertilizers under Ultrasol, Qrop, Speedfol, Allganic, Ultrasoline, ProP, and Prohydric brands. It also provides iodine and its derivatives for use in medical, agricultural, industrial, and human and animal nutrition products comprising x-ray contrast media, biocides, antiseptics and disinfectants, pharmaceutical intermediates, polarizing films for LCD and LED screens, chemicals, organic compounds, and pigments, as well as added to edible salt to prevent iodine deficiency disorders.