Allegheny Technologies Incorporated ATI slipped to a net loss of $7.9 million or 6 cents per share in first-quarter 2021 against net income of $21.1 million or 16 cents per share in the prior-year quarter. Loss per share was narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 24 cents.The company delivered revenues of $692.5 million in the quarter, down 27.5% year over year. Nevertheless, the figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $611.4 million.Allegheny Technologies Incorporated Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Allegheny Technologies Incorporated price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Allegheny Technologies Incorporated Quote Segment HighlightsIn the first quarter, revenues in the High-Performance Materials & Components (“HPMC”) segment declined 42.7% year over year to $240.9 million. The company stated that 75% of unit sales were attributable to the aerospace and defense markets. EBITDA in the unit was $24.6 million compared with $76.6 million in the prior-year quarter. Reduced asset utilization rates and lower overall demand affected operating margins.The Advanced Alloys & Solutions (“AA&S”) segment’s sales fell 15.6% year over year to $451.6 million. Total sales to aerospace & defense markets declined 44% year over year owing to reduced current year aerospace demand due to the pandemic. EBITDA in the division totalled $49.7 million compared with $41.1 million in the prior-year quarter. Cost-reduction measures enacted in 2020 had a positive impact on EBITDA as volumes increased in the first quarter of 2021. Also, Precision Rolled Strip joint venture in China witnessed record earnings in the first quarter.Financial PositionAllegheny ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $541.7 million, down 16% year over year. Long-term debt increased 3.1% year over year at $1,598.4 million.Cash used in operating activities for the first quarter was $68.1 million.OutlookAllegheny expects second-quarter results to benefit from modest recovery in demand for its jet engine products, backed by increasing domestic air travel rates in the United States and other parts of the world. Also, the company’s jet engine forging share gains are beginning to payout dividends with the increase in industry production volumes.Continued margin improvement in the HPMC segment is anticipated in 2021, accelerating in the second half, driven by aggressive cost-cutting measures undertaken in 2020, the company noted.The company remains focused in 2021 to undertake strategic business transformation efforts within the Advanced Alloys & Solutions segment to exit production of low-margin standard stainless sheet products, while increasing revenues of profitable specialty products over time.Price PerformanceShares of Allegheny have surged 228.7% in the past year compared with 123.3% rise of the industry.Zacks Rank & Key PicksAllegheny currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Some other top-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Dow Inc. DOW, Nucor Corporation NUE and Impala Platinum Holdings Limited IMPUY.Dow has a projected earnings growth rate of roughly 261.5% for the current year. The company’s shares have surged 88.8% in a year. It currently flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Nucor has an expected earnings growth rate of around 228.4% for the current year. The company’s shares have gained 101% in the past year. It currently sports a Zacks Rank #1.Impala has an expected earnings growth rate of 197.6% for the current fiscal. The company’s shares have skyrocketed 252.5% in the past year. It currently flaunts a Zacks Rank #1.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Nucor Corporation (NUE): Free Stock Analysis Report Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (ATI): Free Stock Analysis Report Dow Inc. (DOW): Free Stock Analysis Report Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. (IMPUY): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research