Wednesday, KeyBanc Capital downgraded NewMarket Corp. (NEU) shares to Hold from Buy.
Analyst Saul Ludwig said that he increased his former price target to $70 on April 27as he believed NewMarket shares would continue to outperform the overall market; since then NEU shares have risen another 14% vs. a 5% increase in the S&P 500 over the same period.
NEU shares closed at $66.54 on May 5, which is 5% from the analyst's former price target and he now expects NEU shares to perform in line with the overall market going forward. The analyst downgraded the stock to Hold.
The analyst said that fundamentals have not changed since last note and his estimates remain the same. For second quarter of 2009, the analyst's EPS estimate is $1.52 vs. $1.13 in last year. The analyst's 2009 and 2010 EPS estimates remain $6.00 and $5.40, respectively.
The analyst anticipates that NEU will see a sequential increase in volumes and will benefit from lower unabsorbed overhead in second quarter of 2009 vs. last year. The analyst's rating change is based only on his valuation metrics in regards to his current 2009 and 2010 estimates.
Currently, NEU is down $2.85 or 4.28% and trading at $63.69.
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