Stock Analysis | Lyondellbasell Industries Outlook - Technical Weakness Persists Amid Mixed Analyst Signals

Market Snapshot

Takeaway: Lyondellbasell Industries (LYB) is showing a technical score of 3.18, indicating weakness and a suggestion to avoid, while the stock price has risen by 13.49% recently. Analysts are divided, with an average rating of 2.83 and a performance-weighted score of 2.09.

News Highlights

Recent Developments: While not all news directly impacts LYB, here are key recent events:

• Safex Chemicals announced a new $80 MT/day crop protection facility in India, signaling strong industry tailwinds for chemical producers like LYB.
• Genentech reported positive trial results for a breast cancer treatment, highlighting ongoing innovation in the broader industrial and healthcare sectors.
• TotalEnergies and RGE received a conditional license to import 1 GW of clean power into Singapore—again indicating a rising global focus on energy infrastructure, which could benefit LYB's materials and chemicals business.

Analyst Views & Fundamentals

Analysts remain split, with a recent average rating of 2.83 and a historical-weighted score of 2.09. The ratings are inconsistent, with a mix of Neutral (4), Buy (1), and Strong Sell (1) calls in the last 20 days. This divergence highlights caution among analysts.

Key fundamental values include:

• Current Ratio: 1.77 (internal diagnostic score: 3.51) – indicates moderate liquidity.
• Cost of Sales Ratio: 91.29% (score: 3.51) – high, signaling tight gross margins.
• Cash-UP Ratio: 0.24 (score: 3.51) – suggests cash generation is decent relative to market value.
• Net Cash Flow from Operating Activities (YoY growth rate): -118.48% (score: 3.51) – a concerning contraction in operational cash flow.
• Equity Multiplier: 2.92 (score: 3.51) – reflects a higher reliance on leverage.

These numbers suggest that while the company maintains some financial resilience, its cash flow and profitability metrics are under pressure.

Money-Flow Trends

Big-money players are showing slight optimism, with an overall inflow ratio of 50.38%. Large and extra-large investors are especially active, with inflow ratios of 51.60% and 50.66%, respectively. On the retail side, small investors are also showing some buying interest, with an inflow ratio of 50.13%.

The fund-flow score is 8.06 (internal diagnostic score), labeled as "excellent," indicating strong capital inflows across different investor categories.

Key Technical Signals

Lyondellbasell's technical indicators are largely bearish. The Williams %R (WR Overbought) has triggered multiple times over the past five days, with an internal score of 2.01 (internal diagnostic score), suggesting caution. This indicator has historically delivered a negative average return of -0.10% and a win rate of only 43.75% over 32 signals.

A MACD Golden Cross was observed on August 18, with a score of 4.35 (internal diagnostic score). However, its historical performance is modest, with a win rate of 54.55% and an average return of 0.06% across 11 signals. Despite this, bullish momentum is weak overall.

Key insights from technical analysis include:

• Technical indicators show high volatility and unclear direction.
• 1 bearish signal dominates over 0 bullish signals, suggesting a weak trend.

Conclusion

Consider waiting for a clearer trend. While big-money inflows and recent news are mildly positive, the technical setup remains weak, with conflicting signals. With a bearish-leaning technical profile and a mixed analyst landscape, investors may want to observe upcoming fundamentals or earnings releases before making a move. If you’re already invested, consider tightening stop-loss levels.