Caesarstone (NASDAQ:CSTE) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Caesarstone (NASDAQ:CSTE) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

Separately, Benchmark reduced their price objective on shares of Caesarstone from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th.

Caesarstone Stock Performance

Caesarstone stock opened at $4.85 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $5.22. The company has a market capitalization of $167.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.53 and a beta of 0.13. Caesarstone has a 1 year low of $3.50 and a 1 year high of $6.81.

Caesarstone (NASDAQ:CSTE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The construction company reported ($0.15) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.02). Caesarstone had a negative net margin of 12.91% and a negative return on equity of 8.21%. The business had revenue of $119.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $123.85 million.

Institutional Trading of Caesarstone

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC raised its position in Caesarstone by 89.7% during the 1st quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 329,827 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,349,000 after buying an additional 155,956 shares during the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Caesarstone in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Rhumbline Advisers acquired a new stake in shares of Caesarstone during the 2nd quarter worth about $107,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Caesarstone during the 2nd quarter worth about $293,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Caesarstone during the 2nd quarter worth about $106,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.70% of the company’s stock.

About Caesarstone

Caesarstone Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and markets engineered stone and other materials under the Caesarstone brand in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Australia, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Israel. The company's engineered stone slabs are primarily used as indoor and outdoor kitchen countertops in the renovation and remodeling, and residential construction sectors.