Morgan Stanley Lowers Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) Price Target to $68.00

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) had its target price lowered by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $73.00 to $68.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the specialty chemicals company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 18.61% from the company’s previous close.

ALB has been the subject of several other research reports. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Albemarle from $96.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Albemarle from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Albemarle from $99.00 to $86.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Albemarle from $171.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Albemarle from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.91.

Albemarle Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALB opened at $83.55 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Albemarle has a twelve month low of $71.97 and a twelve month high of $143.19. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $87.71 and its 200-day moving average is $92.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.46, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.59.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The specialty chemicals company reported ($1.09) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.49). Albemarle had a negative return on equity of 1.72% and a negative net margin of 21.93%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Albemarle will post 1.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Albemarle

In related news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 2,525 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.12, for a total transaction of $255,328.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 73,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,457,296.64. This represents a 3.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Albemarle

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALB. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth about $692,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 32.3% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,817 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 10,682 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Albemarle by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 33,672 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 3rd quarter worth about $375,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

About Albemarle

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen. The Energy Storage segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium chloride; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services.