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

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report)'s stock price 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.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $47.00 to $38.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $62.80 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. Berenberg Bank started coverage on shares of 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 for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $55.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.06.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 41.6% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 899,646 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,661,000 after acquiring an additional 264,324 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the 2nd quarter valued at $8,592,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,144,179 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $105,407,000 after purchasing an additional 165,370 shares during the last quarter. Concentric Capital Strategies LP bought a new stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the third quarter worth $4,213,000. Finally, Prudential PLC raised its holdings in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 18.9% during the second quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 612,538 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $24,961,000 after buying an additional 97,479 shares in the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Down 3.5 %

The company has a market cap of $10.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.47 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.24). Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile had a positive return on equity of 16.12% and a negative net margin of 6.74%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile S.A. will post -1.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Company Profile

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.