UPDATE: Piper Jaffray Downgrades Albemarle Following Strategic Delaying Announcement

In a report published Tuesday, Piper Jaffray analyst Mike J. Ritzenthaler downgraded the rating on Albemarle Corporation ALB from Overweight to Neutral, and lowered the price target from $69.00 to $65.00. In the report, Piper Jaffray noted, “We have elected to downgrade shares of ALB from Overweight to Neutral on the culmination of softer than expected earnings power refinery catalysts in FY14 and slower than expected uptake of key new products in Fine Chemistry. The strategic delayering announcement yesterday may eventually free up as much as $30 million in SG&A that could be reinvested in R&D, but these new resources could take a year or more to generate a material impact to the bottom line. The results of this view are healthy cuts to our forward estimates, and we are lowering our price target to $65 (from $69 previously).” Albemarle Corporation closed on Monday at $63.02.