Ecovyst (ECVT) Moves 9.2% Higher: Will This Strength Last?

Ecovyst (ECVT) shares soared 9.2% in the last trading session to close at $8.3. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 'no gain, no loss' position over the past four weeks.

Ecovyst shares rose after a Citi analyst raised the price target from $7.50 to $10.00 while maintaining a Buy rating. The analyst also updated estimates for Ecovyst, with second-quarter 2025 and full-year 2025 EBITDA estimates moving up 2% and 1%, respectively.  The upbeat outlook reflects better refinery utilization, stabilizing industrial production and easing tariff concerns.

This specialty chemical producer is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.12 per share in its upcoming report, which represents no change from the year-ago quarter. Revenues are expected to be $204.83 million, up 12.1% from the year-ago quarter.

While earnings and revenue growth expectations are important in evaluating the potential strength in a stock, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

For Ecovyst, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on ECVT going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

Ecovyst is part of the Zacks Chemical - Specialty industry. Daqo New Energy (DQ), another stock in the same industry, closed the last trading session 15.8% higher at $17.71. DQ has returned 12.8% in the past month.

Daqo's consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has remained unchanged over the past month at -$1.16. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of +35.9%. Daqo currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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