JPMorgan believes Celanese isn’t getting the attention from investors it deserves. Analyst Jeffery Zekauskas added the chemicals and specialty materials maker to the bank’s focus list, maintaining its overweight rating and increasing its price target to $76 from $68 — indicating 76% upside from Wednesday’s close. “Celanese’s Acetyl Chain segment earnings are likely to lift meaningfully in 2026 because of price inflation in acetic acid derivatives such as VAM and VAE as well as from acetic acid itself.” Zekauskas wrote, calling the stock “unloved.” “Engineered Materials volume excluding the Micromax divestiture are also likely to improve year-over-year against easy comparisons driven by better demand from medical and electronics end markets.” Shares have struggled in 2026, losing around 10%. The company on Wednesday reported better-than-expected results for the second quarter, though investors remained concerned about the company’s financial leverage and high net debt-to-EBITDA ratio. CE YTD line Celanese YTD The analyst believes Celanese has characteristics suitable for long-term investment strategies despite its high leverage. He also wrote that, while automotive consumer sales were lower, electronic and medical consumer sales continue to rise. “We think that Celanese has excellent long-term investment characteristics. We view the company on a sum-of-the-parts basis,” he wrote in one section. “Sales to automotive customers now comprise less than half of Engineered Materials revenue…net sales to electronics customers grew 11% y/y in 2Q:26…net sales to medical customers grew 19% y/y driven by medical implants and injectable pen application.” Analysts are somewhat split on Celanese. Of the 18 who cover it, 10 rate it a buy or strong buy, according to LSEG. The remaining eight have a hold or underperform rating.
