Westlake Chemical (WLK 1.38%) has exploded this year, up 91.58% since the beginning of January, leaving this stock as our No. 1 pick for the best materials stock of 2012. Among the company's products are ethylene and other plastics using ethylene. With the sheer volume of natural gas available in the U.S. from the shale drilling boom driving natural gas down to rock-bottom prices, the ethane Westlake uses as feedstock for production has never been cheaper. Because of this, the company is beating its non-U.S. competitors in margins hands down. In this video, Motley Fool materials analyst Taylor Muckerman tells us if he expects this trend to continue into 2013 and beyond.
The No. 1 Materials Stock of the Year?
By Taylor Muckerman and Joel South – Dec 20, 2012 at 2:00PM
NYSE: WLK
Westlake
Market Cap
$8.4B
Today's Change
(-1.38%) $0.92
Current Price
$65.86
Price as of November 5, 2025 at 4:00 PM ET
Up 91.58% year to date, this stock outperformed everyone else in the materials sector in 2012.
About the Author
Taylor Muckerman was lead energy & materials analyst for fool.com from 2012-2013. He is now Head of Retention for Motley Fool Canada.