Morgan Stanley analyst Neel Kumar downgraded Olin (OLN) to Equal Weight from Overweight after the company recently lowered its 2019 EBITDA guidance to $1.075B-$1.175B. Even though the guidance was revised lower, it appears to embed a significant near-term improvement in caustic prices, though Kumar thinks the catalysts expected to drive caustic pricing improvements have largely played out, he tells investors. The analyst, who sees potential for further negative earnings revisions, cut his price target on Olin shares to $23 rom $33. He also lowered his target for peer Westlake Chemical's (WLK) shares to $69 from $88.

As previously reported, Deutsche Bank analyst David Begleiter upgraded Westlake to Buy from Hold with a price target of $174, up from $138. Shares have outperformed over the last 12 months, but the analyst argues its "not too late" as this outperformance has occurred despite weak fundamentals in each of Westlake's its commodity chains. Investors have focused on and rewarded Westlake for its building products business, a leading North American supplier in the premium roofing, sliding, trim and shutter, decorative stone and windows business. While stating that "sum of the parts stories rarely, if ever, work," the firm believes Westlake "could be on one of the rare sum of the parts stories does work."