Jefferies Reiterates Buy Rating, $77 PT on Albemarle Corporation

In a report published Wednesday, Jefferies & Company reiterated its Buy rating and $77.00 price target on Albemarle Corporation

. Jefferies noted, “Q2 EPS of $1.24 was $0.01 above consensus. Sales fell by 8% YoY with profits up 1%. Segment profits were $0.02 worse than expected driven by weakness in Catalysts (likely some order lumpiness in HPC). Polymer Solutions were in line. While bromine prices continue to hold, Albemarle is not yet seeing the increased market demand that they initially expected for 2H12.” Albemarle Corporation closed on Tuesday at $57.23.