Huntsman (HUN) shares rallied 5.3% in the last trading session to close at $37.89. This move can be attributable to notable volume with a higher number of shares being traded than in a typical session. This compares to the stock's 11.2% loss over the past four weeks.

Shares of HUN popped after the company’s board authorized a doubling of its existing share repurchase program to $2 billion from $1 billion. The company had already bought back shares worth $102 million under the original program as of Dec 31, 2021. The additional $1 billion of authorized repurchases (or $1.9 billion in total) reflects around 25% of its market capitalization as of Mar 25, 2022. The company plans to buyback roughly $1 billion of the remaining $1.9 billion in stock this year.

This chemical company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.98 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +48.5%. Revenues are expected to be $2.3 billion, up 25.1% from the year-ago quarter.

Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.

For Huntsman, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 2.6% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. And a positive trend in earnings estimate revision usually translates into price appreciation. So, make sure to keep an eye on HUN going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Huntsman is part of the Zacks Chemical - Diversified industry. LyondellBasell (LYB), another stock in the same industry, closed the last trading session 2.1% lower at $105.43. LYB has returned 9.9% in the past month.

LyondellBasell's consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has changed -1.5% over the past month to $3.65. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of +14.8%. LyondellBasell currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).