Chemical companies fall after BofA downgrades ratings citing unsustainable gains, conflict risks

Dow

06/04/2026 15:37

** Shares of chemical companies fall after BofA Global Research downgrades ratings

** BofA downgrades Dow DOW.N and LyondellBasell LYB.N to "underperform" from "neutral"; downgrades Westlake WLK.N to "neutral" from "buy"

** BofA says recent share gains based on temporary market factors make the stock less attractive now

** Adds, despite the possibility of strong earnings, it has "little desire to capitalize material 'overearning' associated with the Iran conflict,"

** Brokerage believes while the war may keep oil prices higher for longer, it still expects petrochemical prices to drop significantly after a likely peak in the second quarter of 2026

** Shares of DOW fall 2.7%, LYB down 2.1%, and WLK slips 1.7%

** However, brokerage raises price target expecting short-term disruptions in the market and believes that energy prices will be higher than usual in 2027 and beyond

** Brokerage raises the price objective for the following companies:

Company
New PO
Old PO
Upside/downside to last close
LYB
$68
$55
-14.5%
DOW
$35
$31
-15.4%
WLK
$119
$115
1.5%

 (Reporting by Pranav Mathur in Bengaluru)

 ((Pranav.Mathur@thomsonreuters.com;))