Vicat Shares Drop 4%, Weighed Down by Brent Crude Surge
The cement company from Isère wipes out last week's rebound in a single session, recording a sharp decline on the Paris stock exchange. The stock experiences significant profit-taking in a tense European market, weighed down by a resurgence of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
A 4% Drop that Puts the Stock Below Its Three Key Moving Averages
Vicat's stock falls by 4.07% to €61.30, down from €63.90 the previous day. This session erases the rebound of more than 6% gained on July 3rd, placing the stock in the lower half of the SBF 120 index, while the broader index is down by 1.83%. The movement is part of a CAC 40 that is down 2%, amid a new direct military escalation between Washington and Tehran, and Brent crude jumping 5.7% to $76.09 per barrel.
The stock falls below its three moving averages: the MM20 at €63.05 (a drop of -2.78%) and the MM50 at €62.96 (-2.64%) both give way suddenly, while the MM200 at €67.15 remains 8.71% above the current price. The RSI at 59 remains in the neutral zone and does not accompany the decline, indicating that the technical deterioration is still recent. The support at €58.80, located about 4% below the current price, will be the next chartist reference point.
A Decline that Goes Against the Grain of a Still Moderate Valuation
Based on the expected earnings per share, the stock is trading at about 9.7 times the earnings for the current fiscal year and 8.6 times those of the next fiscal year, according to the consensus of surveyed analysts, with an expected EPS growth of 12.4% from one year to the next. Today's decline occurs in a market environment unfavorable to cyclicals: the SBF 120 is pulled down by Vivendi (-10.78%), Air France-KLM (-6.77%) and Société Générale (-5.05%), while the VIX jumps 11.66% to 18.01, reflecting a marked increase in risk aversion. Today's movement interrupts the rebound sequence that began in mid-June, when the stock had broken through its resistance at €64.80 and then climbed above its moving averages. A positive one-month performance (+1.83%) and a gain of nearly 5% over one year: the medium-term trend remains intact, but the stock is moving away again from its MM200 at €67.15, which has acted as a ceiling for several weeks.
