Westlake Jumps After Sharp Q2 Turnaround and Stronger Chemicals Pricing

Westlake Corporation (WLK) is up 11.1% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The most likely driver is a much stronger second-quarter earnings report that showed Westlake swinging from losses to solid profitability, helped by better pricing in its chemicals-focused segment and stronger volumes in pipe and fittings. Investors also appear to be responding to signs that margin recovery, debt reduction, and recent self-help actions are gaining traction at the same time.

Details:

Second-quarter net sales rose to $3.27 billion, while net income reached $260 million, or $2.01 per share, compared with a loss in both the prior quarter and the year-ago period.

The Performance and Essential Materials segment posted a major improvement, with operating income of $185 million, supported by higher average sales prices for polyethylene and PVC resin and lower North American natural gas costs.

Management said its profitability improvement plan remains on track for a $600 million operating income benefit, which may have reinforced confidence that the rebound is not only market-driven.

Westlake also said it generated free cash flow in the quarter, reduced debt by about $500 million, returned $99 million to shareholders, and completed the acquisition of a PVC and VCM site in Germany.

Sources:

Westlake Corporation, Benzinga, SEC

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$WLK Insider Trading Activity

$WLK insiders have traded $WLK stock on the open market 4 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 4 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $WLK stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

MARK STEVEN BENDER (EVP & CFO) has made 0 purchases and 3 sales selling 33,822 shares for an estimated $3,604,033.
ROBERT F. BUESINGER (EVP, PEM Segment Head) sold 4,000 shares for an estimated $461,000

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard. You can access data on insider stock transactions through the Quiver Quantitative API insider transaction endpoint.

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$WLK Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 175 institutional investors add shares of $WLK stock to their portfolio, and 148 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

WELLINGTON MANAGEMENT GROUP LLP removed 2,427,200 shares (-57.5%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $283,545,504
CAPITAL WORLD INVESTORS added 2,039,682 shares (+93.9%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $238,275,651
FMR LLC added 1,083,630 shares (+473.5%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $126,589,656
ORBIS ALLAN GRAY LTD added 906,884 shares (+20.7%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $105,942,188
GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC added 639,374 shares (+84.8%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $74,691,670
THOMPSON SIEGEL & WALMSLEY LLC removed 533,314 shares (-99.4%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $62,301,741
CITADEL ADVISORS LLC added 512,283 shares (+252.0%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $59,844,900

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard. You can access data on hedge funds moves and 13F filings through the Quiver Quantitative API 13F endpoint.

$WLK Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $WLK in the last several months. We have seen 1 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 firms issue sell ratings.

Here are some recent analyst ratings:

UBS issued a "Buy" rating on 05/06/2026

To track analyst ratings and price targets for $WLK, check out Quiver Quantitative's $WLK forecast page.

$WLK Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $WLK recently. We have seen 11 analysts offer price targets for $WLK in the last 6 months, with a median target of $110.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Vincent Andrews from Morgan Stanley set a target price of $92.0 on 07/02/2026
John Roberts from Mizuho set a target price of $88.0 on 07/01/2026
Matthew DeYoe from B of A Securities set a target price of $85.0 on 06/30/2026
Patrick Cunningham from Citigroup set a target price of $85.0 on 06/24/2026
Joshua Spector from UBS set a target price of $117.0 on 06/05/2026
Jeffrey Zekauskas from JP Morgan set a target price of $90.0 on 05/18/2026
Arun Viswanathan from RBC Capital set a target price of $130.0 on 05/11/2026

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.