Celanese upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies

Jefferies upgraded Celanese (CE) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $86, up from $43. While the company’s first half of 2026 earnings results are “likely remain choppy,” based on peer comments, “it is finally time to buy the dips,” the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says Celanese offers significant operating leverage to a demand cycle. The narrative of weak demand and de-stocking is “finally giving way” to cumulative stimulus in the U.S. and Europe and increasing rationalization and tighter discipline on new projects in the chemical industry, contends Jefferies.