Bank of America Merrill Lynch Reports on Celanese (CE)

Bank of America Merrill Lynch commented on Celanese CE in a report released yesterday. In the report, Bank of America Merrill Lynch was positive in its outlook of the company. Bank of America writes, “Our key takeaways are: (1) earnings target for 2013 suggests upside to Street estimates; (2) ethanol project in China remains on track for 2014 with new emphasis on fuels to supplement the industrial ethanol market; (3) Celanese's ethanol technology is linked to acetyls, so an integrated complex at Nanjing, China is possible as is a new Greenfield site at Zhuhai, China; and (4) industrial specialties are growing in non-traditional areas such as solar, healthcare and exterior coatings in combination with acrylics. On balance, Celanese appears focused on organic growth opportunities, most notably an initial foray into ethanol in China and possibly, a new world-class acetyls complex in the coming years.” Bank of America Merrill Lynch has a Buy rating on Celanese and a price target of $60. Shares of the company closed the trading day at $52.08, up from its opening price of $51.29.