Methanex downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler analyst Charles Neivert downgraded Methanex (MEOH) to Neutral from Overweight with a price target of $36, down from $71. The tariffs instituted by the U.S. and the likely retaliation and peripheral economic fallout from those tariffs have the potential to create “long-lasting complications” for the U.S. chemical industry, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm sees significant and, in some cases, irreversible negative impacts on earnings going forward. The impact will likely take the form of a loss of demand both domestically and internationally on weaker economies, reduced fixed cost absorption driving unit costs higher and margins lower, higher finance costs going forward, “and a host of other problematic outcomes,” says Piper.