Nomura Instinet analyst Aleksey Yefremov downgraded Olin (OLN) to Reduce from Neutral and lowered his price target for the shares to $22 from $23. The supply/demand balance in the domestic caustic soda market continued to deteriorate in December and January, Yefremov tells investors in a research note. The analyst believes this will lead to the benchmark caustic soda index to decline in January and February. Further, industry conversations indicate that the level of domestic price competition increased considerably recently, as indicated by weaker spot market and discounts to freely negotiated and indexed contracts, Yefremov contends. He believes the risk/rewards for shares of Olin and Westlake Chemical (WLK) are "skewed to the downside."

Reports Q1 revenue $1.64B, consensus $1.65B.CEO Ken Lane said, "All Q1 2024 business segment results improved sequentially from Q4 2023, which begins Olin's recovery from trough-level earnings. During the quarter, the Olin team delivered on our commitment to accelerate a favorable inflection point for our Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls business. We expect this momentum to continue with Q2 2024 results, as demand and pricing continue to improve. We expect our Chemical businesses to be sequentially higher than first quarter 2024 levels and our Winchester business to be in line with first quarter results, as a less favorable mix and higher raw material costs offset stronger military volumes. Overall, we anticipate Olin's Q2 2024 adjusted EBITDA to improve from Q1 2024 levels. Based on our current outlook for the pace of demand and pricing improvement for our Chemical businesses, we currently believe Olin's full year 2024 adjusted EBITDA to be similar to or slightly higher than 2023 levels."