BASF's Louisiana MDI Start-Up Meets a Jefferies Downgrade

Published on 11/12/2026 at 05:51 | Editorial boerse-global.de

Jefferies downgraded BASF to Underperform, citing 2027 earnings 5% below consensus, as Evonik rejected a raised 24-euro-per-share offer.

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Jefferies stripped BASF of its "Hold" rating on Tuesday, moving the chemicals giant to "Underperform" while keeping a 44-euro price target unchanged. Analyst Priyanka Patel sees operating earnings for 2027 landing 5 percent below consensus, pointing to firmer gas prices, a demand recovery that has yet to materialize, thinning margins and persistent overcapacity across the sector.

The market shrugged off the call. BASF shares added 0.2 percent on the day, building on a 0.1 percent gain in the prior session that left the stock at 54.54 euros.

Evonik Standoff Shows No Sign of Breaking

Efforts to acquire Evonik remain stalled. Evonik turned down BASF's raised offer of 24 euros per share on Monday, according to Reuters, despite an initial round of talks between the two companies' leadership. No further meetings are scheduled, Reuters reported. The dpa-AFX news agency framed the same encounter as an informational exchange rather than formal takeover negotiations, and said Evonik was not conducting takeover talks with BASF on Monday.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying BASF?

A Billion-Dollar Plant Comes Online

On the operational front, BASF formally commissioned a new MDI facility at its Geismar complex in Louisiana. The company put the investment at roughly 1 billion US dollars, lifting annual capacity at the site to almost 600,000 tonnes.

BASF also disclosed a shift in how it supplies European polyisobutene customers: from January 2027, the production earmarked for external buyers will run entirely on electricity from renewable sources.

Buyback and a Chilean Divestment

The Ludwigshafen group repurchased about 352,000 of its own shares between November 2 and November 6 inclusive, part of its ongoing buyback program. In Chile, ALTA Performance Materials signed a contract on Friday to take over BASF's local Palatal business.

Those moves follow a guidance upgrade roughly two weeks ago. For 2026, BASF now expects EBITDA before special items of between 7.4 billion and 7.8 billion euros.

BASF Stock: New Analysis - 12 November

Fresh BASF information released. What's the impact for investors? Our latest independent report examines recent figures and market trends.

Read our updated BASF analysis...