Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) Raised to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) to a sell rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

SQM has been the subject of a number of other reports. Bank of America reduced their target price 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 report on Wednesday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $62.80 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $55.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.06.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Stock Performance

Shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile stock opened at $38.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.47 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 2.94 and a quick ratio of 1.47. Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile has a 12 month low of $32.24 and a 12 month high of $64.62.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SQM. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 41.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 264,324 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,592,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $105,407,000 after acquiring an additional 165,370 shares during the period. Concentric Capital Strategies LP purchased a new position in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,213,000. Finally, Prudential PLC increased its stake in Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile by 18.9% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 612,538 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,961,000 after purchasing an additional 97,479 shares in the last quarter. 12.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.