Piper Sandler has upgraded Celanese Corp. (NYSE:CE) to neutral, stating that it believes downside risk has moderated for the chemical products maker.
The investment bank said its prior downgrade had been based on the poor macro outlook in several key regions, climbing interest rates, and the company’s announced actions related to its acquisition of DD assets.
Piper added that the acquisition had “saddled the company with substantial debts which led to actions we saw as detrimental to the long-term financial health and earnings recovery.”
The bank added that it “remains to be seen” how much more time it will take for the stock to return back to the level at the time of the announcement in February 2022.
Piper raised its rating of the stock to $135 from $112.