Albemarle Corporation (ALB) is an interesting player in the Basic Materials space, with a focus on Specialty Chemicals. The stock has been active on the tape, currently trading at $98.39, down from yesterday’s close by -3.30%. Given the stock’s recent action, it seemed like a good time to take a closer look at the company’s recent data.
Fundamental Analysis
Albemarle Corporation (ALB) currently trades with a market capitalization of $10.87 Billion. That value represents a market adjusting for revenues that have been growing by 23.13 % on a quarterly year/year basis as of the company’s last quarterly report.
You can get a sense of how sustainable that is by a levered free cash flow of -$13.72 Million over the past twelve months. Generally speaking, earnings are expected to fall in coming quarters. Analysts are forecasting earnings of $1.21 on a per share basis this quarter. Perhaps, that suggests something about why 5.95% of the outstanding share supply is held by institutional investors.
Technical Analysis
As most professionals know, technical analysis can offer critical insights into what smart money and insiders think about a stock’s prospects going forward. Looking at the stock’s movement on the chart, Albemarle Corporation recorded a 52-week high of $144.99. It is now trading 46.6% off that level. The stock is trading $96.50 its 50-day moving average by -1.89%. The stock carved out a 52-week low down at $86.75.
In recent action, Albemarle Corporation (ALB) has made a move of +5.35% over the past month, which has come on weak relative transaction volume. Over the trailing year, the stock is underperforming the S&P 500 by 12.84, and it’s gotten there by action that has been more volatile on a day-to-day basis than most other stocks on the exchange. In terms of the mechanics underlying that movement, traders will want to note that the stock is trading on a float of 9.58% with $110.28 Million sitting short, betting on future declines. That suggests something of the likelihood of a short squeeze in shares of ALB.
