Axiall Corporation (NASDAQ : AXLL)
Axiall Corporation (AXLL), a company that manufactures and markets chemicals and building products on Friday announced that they have rejected the Westlake Chemical Corp. (WLK) takeover offer. Westlake offered Axiall what was equivalent to $20 per share as its takeover offer which was more than double what AXL stock price was trading at before the gap up in price on Friday.
Axiall Corporation CEO’s Comments
“We believe that Westlake’s proposal is an opportunistic attempt to take advantage of challenging public equity market conditions and significantly undervalues Axiall’s assets and its long-term prospects,” commented Timothy Mann, president and chief executive officer. “The price of Axiall stock was at $20.18 as recently as Dec. 1, 2015. We remain committed to achieving our $100 million run rate cost reduction and productivity target by the end of 2016, as well as our investment in the LACC ethane cracker project with our joint venture partner Lotte Chemical. In addition, we are continuing to evaluate our entire portfolio of businesses and assets to identify opportunities to enhance shareholder value, including our sales process for the Building Products business.” Business Wire
AXLL Technical Analysis
AXLL gapped up in price on Friday to $17.94, up from the prior day’s close of $9.80, which is a 83% increase in price. Taking a look at the daily chart we can see that the last time AXLL traded above this price level was on December 4th when it traded at $19.17. Taking a closer look at the daily chart we can see that AXLL has been on decline all year dating back to February 19th when it traded at its 52 week high price of $51.35. AXLL has a float of 64.32 million shares and is trading over 8 times the normal daily trading volume. AXLL hit pre market highs of $19.30, but gave back $1.36 at the open, or equivalent to 7%. For trading purposes, my entry point would have been $18.00 looking for a run through $19.00. My stop loss would have been $17.80, fearing anything below that and the stock would start to fill in the gap up.
Company Profile
Axiall Corporation manufactures and markets chemicals and building products in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Chlorovinyls, Building Products, and Aromatics. The Chlorovinyls segment produces chlor-alkali and derivative products, including chlorine, caustic soda, vinyl chloride monomer, and vinyl resins; other chlor-alkali and derivative products comprising chlorinated ethylene, calcium hypochlorite, hydrochloric acid, and phosgene derivatives; and compound products, such as vinyl compounds, and compound additives and plasticizers. The Building Products segment offers window and door profiles, which include vinyl window profiles, such as frames, sashes, trims, and other components, as well as vinyl patio door components and fabricated patio doors; extruded decorative trims, moldings, and millwork and deck products; vinyl soffits and soffits, fascia and trims, molded vent mounts and exterior shutters, and vinyl cellular sidings; and pipe and pipe fittings for the municipal and electrical markets. This segment markets its vinyl-based home improvement and building products under the Royal Building Products, Celect Cellular Exteriors, Zuri Premium Decking, Royal Kor Flo, Overture patio doors, Genesis Cellular Window System, Royal S4S Trimboard, and Exterior Portfolio brand names. The Aromatics segment provides cumene, and phenol and acetone products. Axiall Corporation sells its chlorovinyls and aromatics chemical products for further processing into various end-use applications, including plastic pipe and pipe fittings, siding and window frames, bonding agents for wood products, plastics, acrylic sheetings and coatings for wires and cables, paper, minerals, metals, and water treatment industries. The company was formerly known as Georgia Gulf Corporation and changed its name to Axiall Corporation in January 2013. Axiall Corporation was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Yahoo Finance
