BUZZ - Bank of America upgrades chemical company Dow to "Neutral" rating and raises its target price

October 19 - **Bank of America Global Research has upgraded the rating of US chemical company Dow ( DOW.N ) from “Underperform” to “Neutral” and raised the target price from $29 to $31

**The new target price implies an upside of 3.6% from the previous trading day’s closing price

**The rating upgrade for Dow is due to escalating geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East, which increases the risk of crude oil prices remaining elevated for an extended period

**Bank of America added that China has once again become a net importer of chemical products, supporting global chemical prices and improving the demand outlook for producers such as Dow

**The bank expects that the company’s ongoing productivity improvement plan worth over $2 billion will support earnings stability

** Out of 23 brokerages, 8 have a “Buy” or higher rating on the stock, 13 rate it “Hold”, and 2 rate it “Sell”, with the median target price at $32.5 — data compiled by LSEG

** As of the previous trading day’s close, Dow has risen 28.02% year to date

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