BUZZ-Celanese gains on BofA double upgrade

Shares of specialty chemicals firm Celanese CE.N up 2.8% to $69.25 before the bell as BofA Global Research raises rating to 'buy' from 'underperform'

Upgrade driven by signs the acetyls market is bottoming and expected demand recovery in the years ahead for most of CE’s products, BofA says in note to clients

CE's leverage remains addressable with free cash flow (FCF) without without major dilutive actions needed as this point, BofA says

Brokerage forecasts over $1.2 bln in 2025 FCF, and over $1 bln even if 2025 EBITDA is flat y/y, adding that should suffice to repay most of debt due with limited refinancing

Still, BofA lowers PT by $7 to $88, or ~31% above stock's last close

On Nov 5, CE's shares tumbled ~26% to $91 after co temporarily slashed its qtrly dividend by ~95%, and laid out additional cost-cut plans after profit slump, as engineered materials segment impacted by rapid slowdowns in commercial activity in both automotive and industrial businesses

Now, of 21 brokerages covering CE, recommendation breakdown is 5 "strong buy" or "buy", 11 "hold" and 5 "sell" or "strong sell", LSEG data shows

Median PT of $85.50 down from $144 on Oct 14

Through Mon close, shares off 2.6% YTD. In 2024, stock shed 55% while S&P 500 Materials sector .SPLRCM lost ~2% and S&P 500 .SPX rose ~23%

(Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)

((lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))